Editor:
Stephen Harper wants to waste $45 billion of taxpayer dollars on stealth fighter jets rather than investing this money in social programs.
According to media reports from Ottawa, a new report on the F-35 stealth fighter program estimates the cost to be $45 billion — the highest amount yet. This new study by KPMG was requested by the Harper government after the scathing report from the auditor general last spring.
It’s no secret that Harper wants to turn Canada into a military power, regardless of our country’s past identity as an advocate for peace.
During his election campaign, he referred to Canada as a “warrior nation”. For this year’s Remembrance Day, he used the opportunity as an attempt to glorify death and combat rather than simply respecting the sacrifice of millions of Canadians who have risked their lives in war.
The F-35 stealth fighter is designed to launch “shock-and-awe” bombing attacks on other countries, not to defend Canadian sovereignty. This is not the depiction of our country we should allow to be passed on to young generations. Canadians should be consulted about what role we want our military to have abroad.
Jordan MacPhee,
Charlottetown
