MP Laurie Hawn stopped in at Cold Lake recently to deliver an announcement from defence minister Peter MacKay. He told the assembled pilots and military members that 4 Wing would receive 24 of the 65 F-35 Lightning II fighter jets – good news for one of Canada's most important air bases. Another 24 will go to Bagotville, with the rest earmarked for a training squadron.
The new fleet is an exciting announcement for Canada and shows a renewed government interest in investing in the Canadian Forces. The planes are necessary and the timing apt: the CF-18s are nearing the end of their lifespan, which have been kept up in the air 28 years due to the expertise and quality of maintenance crews on the ground.
Northern Canada and the Arctic is perhaps one of the last frontiers of exploration and untapped development in the world, making Canada's stake up there extraordinary. The resource potential, and the future of Canada, is huge up there, and hinges on our ability to assert sovereignty. As MP Brian Storseth put it, if there are no patrols up there, there is no stake.
And if there is no Canadian stake up there, incursions into our northern frontier become menacingly more immanent.
But the jets are not only necessary for territorial defence. The joint strike fighters that are being acquired by NATO countries will enhance global security from mounting terrorist threats and give NATO countries the ability to respond faster and more effectively. With the declining U.S. economy and the rising Chinese economic powerhouse, Canada has a bigger role to play than previously in maintaining global security, and the new fleet of F-35s will give pilots the capability to meet Canada's needs for the first half of the 21st century.
The Liberals, even though they started us down the path to buying the jets by contributing to the development, have criticized the sole-sourcing of the order – a flashback from the Sea King fiasco of the early 1990s. This is nothing more than partisan politics at its weakest, trying to eek out a few poll points from Canadians hesitant about the price tag of Canadian sovereignty.
Further, benefits from the new fleet will include more on-ground training due to its one pilot capacity – so jet fuel savings, as well as less stress to the airframes – and massive economic benefits for local companies tasked with infrastructure improvements on the base or Canadian companies contracted to supply parts.
Nine billion plus some estimated seven billion for the purchase and lifetime maintenance sure seems like a lot – and it is – but it is a price worth paying. Cancelling the jets would be an embarrassment to the country, and could leave pilots in the lurch – or pressing their eject buttons – by a time lapse that would occur between when the Hornets reach the end of their life spans and any delay in delivery of the new fleet.
