Jet criticism by Liberals a mistake

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/07/2010 (5848 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Attempts by the federal Liberal party to make political hay out of the Conservative government’s plans to buy a new fleet of fighter jets may do little more than further expose its own weaknesses.

As reported by the Globe and Mail, the Liberals have announced that if they win office, they would "put a stop" to plans to issue an untendered, $16-billion contract to buy 65 F-35 fighters from Lockheed Martin without letting other fighter manufacturers bid.

They also conceded, however, that after they review the deal, they might decide that a sole-sourced contract is still necessary — but only because they don’t have enough information to rule out the option.

The F-35s are the product of the Joint Strike Fighter program launched in the 1990s by the United States and eight other nations, including Canada; the Liberal government of the day signed on to the development program, but didn’t commit to buying the planes.

Canada’s CF-18 fighters will be retired between 2017 and 2020, and the air force will require replacements. It only makes sense, the Conservatives argue, that Canada’s fleet fit with larger U.S. and NATO plans.

In their pronouncement, Liberals are banking on the idea that lightning can strike twice.

During the 1993 election campaign, then-Liberal leader Jean Chretien labelled the EH-101 helicopter — which the Progressive Conservative government approved for purchase — as a flying "Cadillac."

This occurred just as Canadians woke up to the fact that the country required government spending restraint to fight a significant federal debt and a spending deficit.

In fact, economic conditions were not unlike the situation that Canada now faces following 2008’s worldwide economic downturn, which prompted the current minority Conservative government to spend $47 billion in stimulus funds to keep Canadians working, propelling the country deeper into debt.

Termination of the EH-101 helicopters became one of the top priorities for Chretien’s Liberals, and they rode it to a commanding election victory in which they all but decimated the Tories.

And when the Liberals assumed power, they immediately cancelled the entire order of $4.4 billion for 43 helicopters.

But instead of saving taxpayer dollars, the government had to cough up $500 million in cancellation fees, and had to deal with the embarrassing spectacle of the aging Sea King helicopters as they limped and crashed their way through a decade of headlines.

Now in 2010, the Liberals claim they can make a better deal to replace Canada’s fighter jet fleet, but if they boldly proclaim that they intend to eliminate the contract, they risk another embarrassing mea culpa like they had under Chretien — and that’s making the rather large assumption they can form government under Michael Ignatieff.

And that makes them look weak.

Considering polling numbers over the several months that consistently show the Liberals dragging several points behind the Conservatives, we suppose that’s not saying very much. But taking a tepid stand on a hugely expensive military expenditure at a time of soaring debt will not help them gain a position of strength.

These are not the Chretien Liberals. These are Michael Ignatieff’s Liberals, and until he finds some way of making an issue stick to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservative caucus, they will remain entitled to the Opposition chairs.

Watching new fighter jets in the skies over Canada.