F-35 program to get overhaul after scathing AG report
Canada will re-examine the F-35 jet fighter program following the release of an auditor general's report today that slams the Defence Department regarding its compliance with procurement policies.
CBC News has learned that Auditor General Michael Ferguson will focus his criticism on the air force and on procurement officials inside the Defence Department.
His report is expected to say that officials inside the Defence Department misled government ministers and did not provide accurate information about everything from the cost of the Lockheed Martin fighters to the delivery date.
The government is expected to strip the Defence Department of its responsibility for the program and set up a special secretariat of deputy ministers inside the Public Works Department to manage the program.
The Treasury Board will review all Defence Department documents in order to ensure accuracy and more oversight, as well as to better inform both the government and the public about the F-35 program.
Julian Fantino, the associate minister of national defence, first suggested to the House defence committee in March that the purchase of the F-35 was not a foregone conclusion.
Canada would remain involved in the Joint Strike Fighter program, he said, but "the decision, the determinate decision, has not as yet been made as to whether or not we are going to actually purchase, buy, acquire, the F-35."
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said later that Canada has participated in the F-35 development program with its allies for 15 years and the aerospace industry had received "hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts" because of it.
"We haven't yet signed a contract, as you know, we retain that flexibility but we are committed to continuing our aerospace sector's participation in the development of the F-35."
Canada had originally planned to buy 65 jets for $9 billion, though escalating costs for the fighter have thrown that into doubt.
The estimated lifetime cost of the entire U.S. F-35 program , the most expensive ever, has crossed the $1.5-trillion mark.
Over the course of the U.S. program, the cost of acquiring each F-35 should average $162 million.
The Canadian government estimated its 65 F-35s would cost just $75 million each to acquire, but the parliamentary budget officer has pegged that number at $148 million.
F-35 program to get overhaul after scathing AG report - Politics - CBC News
Canada will re-examine the F-35 jet fighter program following the release of an auditor general's report today that slams the Defence Department regarding its compliance with procurement policies.
CBC News has learned that Auditor General Michael Ferguson will focus his criticism on the air force and on procurement officials inside the Defence Department.
His report is expected to say that officials inside the Defence Department misled government ministers and did not provide accurate information about everything from the cost of the Lockheed Martin fighters to the delivery date.
The government is expected to strip the Defence Department of its responsibility for the program and set up a special secretariat of deputy ministers inside the Public Works Department to manage the program.
The Treasury Board will review all Defence Department documents in order to ensure accuracy and more oversight, as well as to better inform both the government and the public about the F-35 program.
Julian Fantino, the associate minister of national defence, first suggested to the House defence committee in March that the purchase of the F-35 was not a foregone conclusion.
Canada would remain involved in the Joint Strike Fighter program, he said, but "the decision, the determinate decision, has not as yet been made as to whether or not we are going to actually purchase, buy, acquire, the F-35."
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said later that Canada has participated in the F-35 development program with its allies for 15 years and the aerospace industry had received "hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts" because of it.
"We haven't yet signed a contract, as you know, we retain that flexibility but we are committed to continuing our aerospace sector's participation in the development of the F-35."
Canada had originally planned to buy 65 jets for $9 billion, though escalating costs for the fighter have thrown that into doubt.
The estimated lifetime cost of the entire U.S. F-35 program , the most expensive ever, has crossed the $1.5-trillion mark.
Over the course of the U.S. program, the cost of acquiring each F-35 should average $162 million.
The Canadian government estimated its 65 F-35s would cost just $75 million each to acquire, but the parliamentary budget officer has pegged that number at $148 million.
F-35 program to get overhaul after scathing AG report - Politics - CBC News