Ambrose hints at new criteria for $25 billion jet purchase.
by Ish Theilheimer and Samantha Bayard
OTTAWA, Novembr 22, 21012, (SGNews) — After months of denial, the Harper government appears to be backpedalling on the controversial sole-source purchase of F-35 jets that will cost taxpayers $25 billion or more.
Today, the NDP asked repeatedly if the government, in light of the tabling Wednesday of the public accounts committee's final report and of withering criticism of the plan from Auditor General Kevin Page, is changing its plans. Public works minister Rona Ambrose suggested, for the first time, that it might.
"Could the minister assure us that the requirements to replace the CF-18 have been changed?" asked the NDP's Matthew Kellway (Beaches-East York), in the House.
Ambrose replied, somewhat equivocally, "The options analysis is a full evaluation of choices, not simply a refresh of the work that was done before. That review of options will not be constrained by the previous statement of requirements."
Later, Kellway told SGNews, "If they’re not constrained by the current statement of requirements, then they’re back to free wheeling on this thing, because they haven’t confirmed that they changed or amended the statement of requirements, but they’re not being constrained by them either and so I think we’re at a point where the government is making it up as they go along now."
Matthew Kellway says the Conservatives are free-wheeling on the $25 billion F-35 purchase.
Kellway also said the Conservative-dominated public works committee's report doesn't respond to Page's recommendations. "It’s not dealing with the Auditor General’s report. If you put one up against the other, the AG’s report against what the Conservatives have produced, it is not responsive to the more fundamental criticism that the AG made and the point I raised today… Ultimately, if this government is going to undertake a real options analysis, they can’t do that until they confirm that there is a different statement of requirements and to ignore that criticism by the AG is to miss a foundational point of his report."
About Ish Theilheimer and Samantha Bayard
Ish Theilheimer is founder and publisher of SG News and lives in Golden Lake, ON. Samantha Bayard is an Ottawa reporter and an editorial and administrative assistant at SGNews.
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