BC Dragoons, F-35s, and the economy

This past weekend my wife and I were invited by our very own BC Dragoons to participate in a very special remembrance ceremony for our Vets. It was an opportunity to extend our gratitude to the Vets in the room especially the four who served in the battle on the Gothic Line in Italy in 1944. It was a moving evening and yet another reminder of how fortunate we are as Canadians to have so many brave men and women willing to serve us.

On land, sea and air, in Afghanistan, Haiti or protecting the North, our military needs our support and the resources to do their job effectively and safely. That is the reason our government has made the decision to purchase 65 F-35s.

I believe most Canadians see this purchase as necessary and also understand the residual economic benefits this purchase means for our aerospace industry.

Partisan politics however has a way of confusing us about what is important.

Since the July announcement from Defence Minister Peter MacKay, the strategy of the Liberal opposition has been to paint this government as unaccountable and fiscally irresponsible.

The government has been neither.

The criticism that the contract was sole-sourced has all but faded away since testimony at the Standing Committee for National Defence on September 15th confirmed that choosing this particular jet to replace the current CF-18s was made in 2002 by the Liberal government, that the F-35 was the jet that Canada and its NATO partners determined to be the best value for the money and that only one company in the world builds it.

Not to be deterred by facts however, in Question Period this week, the Liberal opposition suggested that purchasing the F-35s is a bad economic decision. Not true either.

As Industry Minister Tony Clement pointed out “we have given Canadian companies an entrance way for being part of the global supply chain for up to 5,000 planes worldwide, not just the 65 that are going to be built in Canada…… They want to cancel the contract or review the contract. The minute they do that, all of those contracts, and there are 60 contracts already extant for this plane for Canadian companies, go on hold, too. That is irresponsible. They are threatening Canadian jobs.”

It is exactly business like this we need for future economic stability.

Lucrative contracts create well-paying jobs and technology transfers, the process by which technological advances turn into marketable goods and services, creating more jobs and more opportunities for Canadian business.

More importantly, the purchase has signalled to our troops that when it comes time to retire the aging CF-18s, the right equipment will be there for them. We certainly do not want to see a repeat of the fiasco that took place in 1993.

That was the year the Liberals did away with the EH-101 helicopter contract, a move that cost we, the taxpayers, $500 million and a loss of lucrative contracts for Canadian industry. Canadian Forces are still flying in 40 year old Sea Kings notorious for breaking down, crashing and putting our troops in harm’s way.

Our government is doing all it can to help us recover from the recession. A necessary part of that is looking to the future and laying the groundwork for an even stronger economy once everything is back to normal.

To me that’s leadership: a willingness to see beyond our current circumstances, to see the opportunities that exist on the horizon and invest in our people and our businesses so that the country is in the best shape possible to take advantage of those opportunities when they come.

During the war, on the Gothic Line, the BC Dragoons did not retreat and, as we struggle to get back on a better economic footing, this government will not retreat either.

Sindi Hawkins

It was with great sadness that I, along with our community, learned of the passing of former MLA Sindi Hawkins on September 21, 2010. Her fight against cancer was valiant. Her strength and courage will always be remembered. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends. As I said in a tribute to Sindi in the House of Commons on Wednesday, gone too soon.

Ron Cannan is the MP for Kelowna-Lake Country. If any of you have any questions or comments on federally-related matters, please contact Ron at [email protected] or by phone at 470-5075.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.