Harper Government rethinking defence spending
Posted Jun 4, 2012 04:57:08 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Harper government is revising its multi-billion shopping list of equipment for the Canadian military.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay says the revision, which is expected to be completed by the fall, is not linked to the Canadian or global economy.
“We have to do this reset and that would have happened regardless of the recession, regardless of some of the fiscal realities,” he told the Canadian Press.
When the Canada First Defence Strategy was announced with great fanfare in 2008, the 20-year, $490-billion policy was hailed as a lifeline for the country’s cash-starved armed forces.
However the government has been hotly criticized for lowballing the cost of the F-35 stealth fighter program.
In April a report by the Auditor General pegged the program at $25 billion, as opposed to the $16 billion originally announced.
Since then many projects have been either sidelined or postponed.
Canada’s purchase of used, glitch-plagued Victoria Class submarines from Britain has also faced harsh criticism.
Political pundits say the revised plan will likely be shortened, given the current economic climate.
