Ignatieff Promises to Kill F-35 Deal

The Liberal leader says if he’s elected he will cancel the $16-billion contract to buy new fighter jets.

Michael Ignatieff had previously been critical of the deal but until yesterday had avoided taking a firm stance on the purchase of the state-of-the-art planes. His change in stance was prompted by comments on Tuesday from Auditor General Sheila Fraser, who called the F-35 deal high-risk. The contract is the largest military procurement in Canadian history and was not put through a competitive bidding process. Fraser also slammed the government’s purchase of military helicopters and it appears the Liberal leader believes he can use her comments to attack Conservatives’ claims to being Canada’s most fiscally responsible party. Many analysts say the cost of the jets is likely to increase and that the planes are inappropriate for Canada’s security needs.