There is No Need for Fighter Jets

There is no need for Canada to invest $30 billion for 65 F-35 fighter jets. We simply do not need them. Stephen Harper and his cronies keep saying that we must buy them to protect our Arctic from the Russians. The truth is, in this day and age, the Russians are very unlikely to attack Canada. These fighter jets were made for the 20th century cold war, not for modern Canada. Besides, even if the Russians were to launch an air attack against Canada, there is no way that 65 fighters would stand a chance against the massive Russian air force.

The F-35 deal is a complete waste of money. There are better ways to spend $30 billion, like the Liberals have made clear in their platform. Instead, Liberals will spend on education, senior care, family care, pensions and more. Stuff that will help Canadians, instead of shiny new toys for the military. It's time to vote Liberal and stop the spending spree gone out of control.

What man-child can resist a fighter jet? Nothing so infuses the male psyche with self-wow than a $75 million — or $150 million, if you prefer — stealthy, supersonic flying machine with four-barrel cannons, bombs, missiles and built-in video system.

Read more at the Toronto Star.

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• Does Canada need next-generation stealth fighter jets? (theglobeandmail.com)

Arctic Arms Race

The purchase of the F-35s could cause an Arctic arms race with Russia, and we all know who has more weapons, more military personnel and more purchasing power. Besides, it would hardly help relations if we started an arms race. The F-35s would also be useless in the scenario in which we have war with Russia. Russia would invade with thousands of planes, probably provoking a reaction from the United States. This 16 billion dollars could be better spent on other things, like health care, education and maybe, more search-and -rescue planes to help save lives, not harm relations. The F-35 deal is a waste of money and should be reconsidered for another plane.

OTTAWA — A government purchase of F-35 fighter jets could cause "angst in Russia" and trigger an Arctic arms race, Arctic sovereignty expert Michael Byers said Thursday.

"I don't want my country to be the country that starts an Arctic arms race," Byers said as debate over the government's plan to spend $16 billion on 65 of the F-35s raged on several fronts on Parliament Hill.

Read more at the Calgary Herald.

Resolving Arctic Problems

Yesterday, the government announced that Canada will work to create a clearly defined Arctic with borders. However, Harper said that Canadian sovereignty will not be compromised. Hopefully, this could mean that the government is willing to talk and collaborate with other countries. As the Globe and Mail notes,

This contrasts sharply with Canada’s traditional approach, which was to (a) stake a claim and then (b) refuse to talk about it.

If you are going to use that strategy, at least have some military in the region. A Foreign Affairs paper said that it will probably be a decade until Canada gets its first Arctic icebreaker.

The best way to assert sovereignty is to be in the place you claim as yours. But the Conservatives are also determined to balance the budget sooner rather than later. The Foreign Affairs policy paper acknowledged it will probably be a decade before Canada has its own polar icebreaker.

Read more at CBC or the Globe and Mail.