Yesterday new Prime Minister Mark Carney acceded to mounting pressure to reconsider paying US arms giant Lockheed Martin tens of billions of dollars to purchase 88 F-35s. The abrupt shift was spurred by concerns that the US has an effective “kill switch” over the warplanes at the same time as Donald Trump threatens Canada. No Fighter Jet Coalition campaigner Brent Patterson joined Talking Foreign Policy to discuss the F-35 win, shifting political climate and Canadian military’s ties to the US empire.
I have suggested that others do as I have: I told the Liberals "that until such time as I see the contract with SAAB signed, sealed and delivered, I don't want to see any fundraisers. We'll talk again when it happens". They did stop sending them... this should work for any political party, as the Conservatives are just as bad. (Nothing wrong with 'bipartisanship'... and it gives the pols an out: "our donors are closing their wallets over this."). Leave me a note and I'll be happy to send the email chain... I have among other things a copy of what I strongly suspect is the statement delivered to the Public Accounts Committee by the Chief of the Defense staff... who happens to be an engineer rather than a pilot, and what she says should be taken with a huge grain of salt: in the last 10 years, ALL appointees and promotions in the armed forces have, according to friends I have there, been on the basis of racism or sexism.
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