2011-04-24 Libya hit by drones. BUT Pay attention to what they are doing with drones in North America, and here in Saskatoon.

Pulling together the information for this update on drones (UAV’s or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles)  made me sick-to-my-stomach.

Sending it to you I am centred, calm and happy.   Because I know many of you will take a few minutes to do the simple “REMEDIES”!   

Canada is the 13th highest military spender in the world after more than a decade of yearly increases, and many more years of increases are planned.  But that’s not what makes me sick, although it should.

Hi Steve, 

The drones are now deployed along the Canada-U.S. border from Vancouver as far east as Lake-of-the-Woods,  maybe further. 

A  TRAINING program related to drones is being established in a new facility at the Saskatoon airport.  I say this after looking at the Bachelor of Science in UAV’s now in the U.S. schools; the wording is too similar to the School here and the players are the same.   I do not believe the “nonmilitary” description.  

Federal education and stimulus money is being used to create nonmilitary drone education programs. The Department of Aviation at the University of North Dakota, located in Grand Forks and the operator of the test and training site at Grand Forks AFB, now offers the first Bachelors of Science program in Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations. The Aviation Maintenance Technology program at Northland Community and Technical College, located in Thief River Falls, Minnesota just 40 miles east of Grand Forks, will soon offer courses in the repair of UAVs.

North Dakota (Grand Forks, Thief River Falls, MN)  and Saskatchewan are not far apart. 

Sask is a second gateway to the tar sands.   It’s why they are trying to get “small” nuke reactors here.  Brad Wall, our Premier, may as well be Stephen Harper.  Wall “co-chairs” with the Americans the “largest on the planet” Canada-U.S. Western Energy Corridor. 

/Sandra

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The developments are unnerving militarization coming from the U.S. with Canadian collaborators.   

This is an action-based network.  The immediate opportunities (“remedies”) to the militarization are to fight Lockheed Martin’s involvement in Canadian affairs by making F-35 stealth bombers an election issue and by refusing to cooperate in the Canadian census because of Lockheed Martin’s involvement.    /Sandra

 CONTENTS

1. BRIEF BACKGROUND
2. THE JUSTIFICATIONS FOR THE DRONES ALONG THE CANADIAN BORDER (THE MILITARIZATION)  ARE PROPAGANDA
3.  SECRECY IS COMMON:   2011-02-08  Canada kept U.S. border talks under wraps 
4.  COMMENTARY
5.  DRONES HIT LIBYA:  2011-04-23  Attack of the drones: Obama approves the use of unmanned aircraft in Libya conflict.  (This is the first time I’ve seen pictures of the kids at Creech Airforce Base at the console of the remote-control station.)
6.  DRONES PUT IN PLACE ALONG CANADA-U.S. BORDER,  2007 – PRESENT

• 2007-02-12  UAV Tested For US Border Security (Canadian border)
• 2008-12-05  Predator UAV Set for U.S.-Canada Patrol
• 2009-02-18  US/Canada Border Increasingly Militarized, Unmanned drone prowls over the lonely prairie.  G&M
• 2011-01-26   Unmanned plane patrolling stretch of Canada-U.S. border
• 2011-01-27  Unmanned Spyplane For Canadian Border Security
• 2011-04-22  The Drone-ification of America.  (correction: .. of NORTH America)
• 2010-11-01  (Drone training in Canada)  Saskatchewan Aviation Learning Centre Grand Opening at SIIT.

7.  IN THE U.S.

• 2011-04-24   The Verdict: Guilty of Protesting the Drones
• 2011-04-16   Drones Fly Through Congress to Enter US Skies
• 2010-10-10   Stunning victory: Breaking the law to obey a higher law (Lockheed Martin’s unmanned drones, Creech Air Force Base).

8.  U.S. IN THE BUSINESS OF CREATING TERRORISTS

•  2011-04-13  Pakistan Moves to Curb More Aggressive US Drone Strikes, Spying

REMEDIES:

9.   Send this email to as many people as you can.  Talk about it.

10.  LET’S MAKE THE STEALTH FIGHTERS AN ELECTION ISSUE  (scroll down)  (www.ceasefire.ca action, Steve Staples)

11.  TEN REASONS  THE F-35 STEALTH FIGHTER IS WRONG FOR CANADA  (scroll down)  (Steve Staples)

12.  www.ceasefire.ca   has good information, actions and frequent updates.

13.  May 2:  Do not vote for any political party that supports the purchase of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth bombers  (I appended the positions of the four parties.)

14.  May:  refuse to cooperate with Lockheed Martin Corporation’s involvement in the Canadian Census.

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(1)   BRIEF BACKGROUND   

In 2006 there was the report in Macleans Magazine from the “President of the Americas for Lockheed Martin Corporation”, Ron Covais, about the “how to” of the SPP (Security and Prosperity Partnership) for getting what the corporate leaders, working with Government officials, want.  

 The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) surveillance of the Canada-U.S. border has been in the works at least since 2007.   That was the same year as police were trained, disguised and deployed at the SPP Montebello meetings, to turn peaceful protest violent.

 (2008).  Through trying to stop the involvement of Lockheed Martin (American military)  in the Canadian census we have followed things like the “Canada First Defence Strategy” which gives “compatible doctrine”, etc. with the American war machine.  It followed on the heels of the “Troop Exchange Agreement” with the U.S..

 In November 2008 the Ottawa Citizen reported “American officials are pressuring the Federal Government to supply them with information on Canadians .. Canadian officials have said .. will meet the new standard .. by 2011 .. but there’ll be tremendous pressure (from the U.S.) to get there faster.”

 In March 2010 we circulated the information about the plan to roll out armored vehicles in cities across Canada, followed by the March 2011 update:  Vancouver, York (Toronto), Ottawa and Saskatoon – –  armored vehicles. 

That’s a small sampling.  Go to Lockheed Martin, Census, War Economy  for more details.

Step-by-step they continue to move ahead.  The Council of Canadians has been terrific at battling them every inch of the way.

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2.    THE JUSTIFICATIONS FOR THE DRONES ALONG THE CANADIAN BORDER, THE MILITARIZATION, ARE PROPAGANDA

The justifications (propaganda) for the militarization are:

• “The War on Terror”
• “The War on Drugs”

 Both are bogus arguments.   

In the press releases about the UAV’s  (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or “drones”)  deployed along the Canada-U.S. border (see the “CONTENTS”)  there are a number of references to the marijuana that has been seized as a result of the UAV’s.   UAV’s cannot see marijuana inside a truck.  Drones are a ridiculously expensive way of doing whatever it is they are doing.  The use of propaganda is pernicious. 

REGARDING:

• THE WAR ON DRUGS, see:  2011-04-24  “The War on Drugs” is a bogus war, propaganda for increasing police and military presence.
• THE WAR ON TERROR:   all you have to do is look at some of the news articles on UAV’s (see the “CONTENTS”).   As mentioned, pulling them together made me sick-to-my-stomach.  The terrorists are clearly the American Military.  “America is scary “because a declining superpower losing both political and economic dominance but still preserving military supremacy is a dangerous mix.””    AGREED!
• THE ROLE OF PROPAGANDA IN A MILITARISTIC STATE .  See:

2010-03-05  Love, Hate & Propaganda, the art of mass persuasion (WW2) on CBC

2010-03-06   Propaganda. Kitty Werthmann, Austria, 1938 (The Sound of Music) “the state, little by little eroded our freedom”

2010-03-10    Propaganda, Democracy: Imagining “the other”. Ralston Saul. The Cellist of Sarajevo. 

 AND  read “The Animal Farm” by George Orwell!

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(3)   COMMENTARY

Happy Beautiful Easter Day.  I think we had better all wake up from the dead. 

Yesterday, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s)  started dropping bombs on Libya (2011-04-23  Attack of the drones: Obama approves the use of unmanned aircraft in Libya conflict).  Civilian casualties from UAV’s in Libya have started.

2011-04-24   The Verdict: Guilty of Protesting the Drones   is in follow-up to  2010-10-10   Stunning victory: Breaking the law to obey a higher law (Lockheed Martin’s unmanned drones, Creech Air Force Base),  the Father John Dear story. 

It is striking how

• (2010-11-01  (Drone training in Canada)  Saskatchewan Aviation Learning Centre Grand Opening at SIIT)  echoes  this paragraph from
•  2011-04-22  The Drone-ification of America  (correction: .. of NORTH America)    

Federal education and stimulus money is being used to create nonmilitary drone education programs. The Department of Aviation at the University of North Dakota, located in Grand Forks and the operator of the test and training site at Grand Forks AFB, now offers the first Bachelors of Science program in Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations. The Aviation Maintenance Technology program at Northland Community and Technical College, located in Thief River Falls, Minnesota just 40 miles east of Grand Forks, will soon offer courses in the repair of UAVs.

The Drone-ification article continues:

Added to that, an amendment to the House version of the bill legalizing drone testing in American airspace set September 30, 2015 as a deadline by which to have general use of drones. The University of North Dakota is also offering a 4-year degree in piloting drones in what is soon expected to be a $20 billion industry.

Clearly, Congress, the Defense Department, the Obama administration and the military contractors who drive the wars all have strong financial interests in having drones crisscrossing the skies of America. They know that this spy technology will be the next big money-making scheme for those who profit from war and the machinery of war. But you can rest assured that the introduction of drones into American airspace will not only further fuse the American government, the American economy and the military industry, perpetuating needless foreign interventions at the expense of civilians abroad and Americans at home but it will serve as yet another nail in the coffin for American civil liberties.

TRY THIS!   My Canadian version of the preceding.  The wording is transportable.  Talk about “harmonization”!:

Federal stimulus money is being used to create drone education programs. The Saskatchewan Aviation Learning Centre located in Saskatoon,  a joint effort between Lockheed Martin ($3.5 million), Boeing, the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology (SIIT), SIAST, Western Economic Diversification (Minister Responsible Lynn Yelich), the Government of Saskatchewan, and the Saskatoon Airport Authority,  now offers the first Bachelors program in Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations. The Aviation Maintenance Technology program at SIIT  will soon offer courses in the repair of UAVs through the Saskatchewan Aviation Learning Centre.   The Commercial Pilots programme at  SIAST  will soon be located in the same new facility at the Saskatoon Airport.

Clearly  the Defense Department, the Harper administration, and the military contractors who drive the wars all have strong financial interests in having drones crisscrossing the skies of North America. They know that this spy technology will be the next big money-making scheme for those who profit from war and the machinery of war. But you can rest assured that the introduction of drones into North American airspace will not only further fuse the North American government, the North American economy and the military industry, perpetuating needless foreign interventions at the expense of civilians abroad and North Americans at home but it will serve as yet another nail in the coffin for North American civil liberties.

2011-04-13  Pakistan Moves to Curb More Aggressive US Drone Strikes, Spying   makes you wonder how anyone can believe that the terrorists are not the American Corporations.

Back to   2011-04-22  The Drone-ification of America.  (correction: .. of NORTH America):

This EXCERPT is critical.  It tells the same story as told by William Hartung in his book “Prophets of War:  Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex” (Jan 2011).  You can find details of it by going to www.sandrafinley.ca  and typing  “Hartung”  into  “Search”.

But the real motivator, as is usually the case in Washington, is money — to be exact, money in the form of job creation (which ultimately translates into electoral votes) and campaign contributions from military contractors. In total, Boeing spent $2.57 million and Lockheed Martin spent $2.4 million in campaign contributions to those running for Congress in 2009-2010.

Indeed, elected representatives on both sides of the aisle benefit equally from the push for more widespread use of drones. For example, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), a sponsor of the amendment who, by the way, received $10,000 from Lockheed Martin (a manufacturer of drones and missiles used by drones) during his 2010 re-election campaign, is looking to preserve 1,215 jobs at a base in Mattydale, N.Y., while also potentially creating “millions of dollars in radar research contracts for local defense companies.” In other words, Schumer is hoping he can get enough donations and win over enough voters to maintain his seat in Congress.

On the House of Representatives side, Reps. John Mica (R-Fla.) and Candice Miller (R-Mich.), the driving forces behind the drone amendments that ended up in the House bill, didn’t hesitate to talk up the advantages drones would bring to national security and the economy. They also didn’t hesitate to take campaign contributions from companies involved in the production of drone technology. In his 2010 re-election campaign, Mica received contributions from Boeing, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon amounting to $10,000 each, while Miller received $10,000 each from Honeywell and Ford, and $8,500 from General Dynamics. Maurice Hinchey (D – NY), a member of the 43-person drone caucus, received $10,000 each from Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Honeywell, as well as $9,500 from L-3 Communications in 2010.

Unfortunately, there are few in Congress who are not complicit in helping to advance the agenda of the military industrial complex. Even President Obama, ironically enough the winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize who received $870,165 from defense contractors during his 2008 campaign . . .

YES:   Libya hit by drones.  BUT Pay attention to what they are doing with drones in North America, and here in Saskatoon.

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10. Let’s Make the Stealth Fighters an Election Issue  (www.ceasefire.ca action, Steve Staples)

Dear Sandra –    

It’s been a pitched media battle with Harper’s Conservatives and his corporate defence lobby since I last wrote you.

And as you will read below, it’s about billions of dollars in military sales, deceit, corporate and government collusion, and an orchestrated campaign to deceive Canadians.
The campaign of deceit is aimed directly at Ceasefire.ca and at people like you. That’s why I hope that you’ll make your donation today.

Your donation is needed now to stop Harper’s plan to build “Fortress North America,” ringed with fleets of U.S. weaponry like the F-35 stealth fighters, ready to deploy at the Pentagon’s command for the next “shock and awe” bombing campaign.

This may be our most difficult and challenging campaign ever.

Billions of dollars are involved: the Harper Conservatives and the corporations are staking everything on seeing this fighter deal go through, no matter what the cost.
The Harper government has launched a massive public relations blitz to counter F-35 critics like us.

Many senior Cabinet ministers, Conservative MPs, retired and serving generals, lobbyists, and military-funded academics have been drafted to support Harper.

And we are on the front lines of this media battle.

Only two days after an article against the F-35 that I co-wrote was printed in the Chronicle Herald, Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose shot back. They said I was “misleading and inaccurate,” and that spending $16 to $21 billion on stealth fighters is “the right decision for the Canadian Forces.”

But the truth is that Peter MacKay is intentionally misleading Canadians. I was in the CTV studio when he told the interviewer about the “contract” for the warplanes – when he knows that there is no contract.

That’s why they are so afraid. The Conservatives have made a huge mistake by agreeing to buy the planes without bothering to settle on a final price or benefits to Canada.  This is just plain deceitful, and unacceptable for a member of the government, especially a Cabinet minister.

As well, Harper has brought in the corporations to attack critics like the Rideau Institute.

The powerful Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC) has joined the government in taking political shots at the opposition parties, and making false accusations.
The CEOs even sent a “spy” into our press conference. An AIAC senior vice-president tried to sneak into our media event in Parliament, claiming to security staff that he “was invited.”

Later, the aerospace corporations slammed our statements against the F-35 in a press release of their own.

I am very concerned that the media are not doing enough to expose the PR campaign that is going on. That’s why we have to watch every report and challenge reporters’ assertions, or readers will not learn the truth.

For instance, I was shocked to see a huge article in the Ottawa Citizen by two retired Air Force generals “dispelling myths” and promoting the F-35.
But the Citizen did not reveal that the co-author, retired General Paul Manson, was also the former head of Lockheed Martin Canada’s Board of Directors – the U.S. company standing to make billions in profits from the F-35.

I immediately contacted the newspaper, exposing the General as a lobbyist. As Embassy magazine later reported the incident:

Luckily, Steven Staples, director of the Rideau Institute and a long-time thorn in the side of the military establishment, outed Manson’s Lockheed Martin association in a letter to the editor the following day.

But the story doesn’t end there. Now we’ve learned that the F-35 stealth fighter deal is connected to Harper’s plan to build a security perimeter around Canada and the United States – a Fortress North America.

I first became aware of a potentially new deal when I was on a panel in Ottawa with a well-connected former Foreign Affairs official.
When he mentioned the possibility of a new security perimeter deal, I immediately pointed out that Canada would end up with our foreign and defence policies being faxed to us from the Pentagon.

Days later, that same official confirmed my fears. He told the Globe and Mail that talks were taking place, and that Prime Minister Harper promised President Obama that “if we have to look at perimeter defence . . . we’re ready to do it.”

The latest round of Canada-U.S. border security talks, launched in February by Harper and Obama, could result in a massive expansion of North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) – the joint U.S.-Canada military aerospace command for North America.

Will Harper push Canada into George Bush’s Star Wars missile defence scheme? How far will Harper go?

Now that the secret negotiations are out in the open, a public relations campaign has already begun for deeper military integration with the United States.

A few weeks ago I was invited on CTV’s Power Play to debate Retired Lieutenant-General George Macdonald, the former Canadian head of NORAD.  General Macdonald was an early believer in Canada joining Bush’s Star Wars, and now, as a paid lobbyist for Lockheed Martin, he is pushing for Canada to buy the F-35 stealth fighters.  And guess what? He is also lobbying reporters to support expanding NORAD on a massive scale to include land and sea military operations.

The military establishment is ready to give away our sovereignty and independence. Why are so many generals, who have sworn to defend Canada, so ready to sell out to the Pentagon?Don’t they care about Canada?

The generals, the CEOs, and the Harper Conservatives are betraying our national independence, and our values as international peacekeepers.

That’s why it is so important to make your voice heard. I hope that we can count on your support for 2011.

Maclean’s Magazine called me “the most outspoken critic of the purchase,” and I will continue to try to live up to that compliment. I’ll challenge this government on the F-35 deal and expose the defence lobby at every turn.

We have already hired a campaign person to work with peace groups and with our 20,000 Ceasefire.ca supporters to make our work more effective.  It’s working already. Together, we’ve sent more than 5,000 messages to Harper saying “No Stealth Fighters!” during our historic “Be Heard on March 3rd” day of action.

And there is more to come. We have new research reports in the works to expose the growing militarism in Canada, rising military spending, and the danger of “Fortress North America.”
Our goal is to raise $15,000 to launch our “No Stealth Fighters” campaign for 2011.

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 11.    Ten reasons the F-35 stealth fighter is wrong for Canada

By Steve Staples and ceasefire.ca

March 3, 2011

Today ceasefire.ca launches a petition against the purchase of F-35 stealth fighters for the Canadian military. Check out the petition by clicking here or use the nifty form below, and read 10 plus one great reasons to sign.

1.     The F-35 is for “shock and awe” combat missionsIts stealth capability and weapons are intended for U.S.-style first strike attacks, a role Canada does not need to play.

2. The F-35 is way too expensive

According to National Defence’s estimates, the cost of purchasing 65 U.S.-built F-35 stealth fighters is between $16 and $21 billion — the most expensive military project in Canadian history.

3. The government’s finances are in bad shape

The annual federal deficit is expected to reach $56 billion this year, and cuts to social programs are expected.

4. The F-35 is ill suited for the arctic

Its stealth characteristic is not needed, and only one engine instead of two puts pilots at risk of being stranded in the far north by an engine failure.

5. Little, if any, of the $16 billion will stay in Canada

Unlike previous military contracts, in this one the Harper government has not required the U.S. manufacturer Lockheed Martin to invest “dollar-for-dollar” in Canada.

6. It is costing Canada job opportunities

Buying any other aircraft would allow the government to require “Industrial and Regional Benefits.” Instead, the Harper Conservatives just hope we’ll get contracts from Lockheed Martin.

7. The F-35 is still a model airplane

The F-35 is still being tested and production is years behind schedule, leaving operating and maintenance costs completely unknown.

8. There was no competition

In a sweetheart deal, the Harper Conservatives committed to Lockheed Martin rather than inviting other firms to put in proposals, increasing the cost by an estimated 20 per cent.

9. There is no hurry to replace our CF-18s

Canada’s current fleet of CF-18s just completed a $2.6 billion upgrade, and could easily remain in service until the mid-2020s.

10. There is no Russian arctic threat

NORAD’s U.S. commander said he sees no military challengers in the arctic, and he is focused on preventing another 9/11 type of attack.

PLUS There is no contract to break

Despite the government’s commitment to Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth fighter, there is no signed contract and therefore no firm price expected until 2013, or even later.

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POSITIONS OF THE POLITICAL PARTIES ON F-35 STEALTH BOMBERS

1. Conservatives –  Stephen Harper has been doing the deal on F-35s  in private, which is consistent with 2011-02-08   Canada kept U.S. border talks under wraps

 Browsing the literature, there are a number of Lockheed Martin people moved into positions in the Government.  I wonder if anyone has done a consolidated list?    

2.    Liberals – Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said that to prevent further abuse, a future Liberal government will cancel the F-35 stealth fighter deal and hold an open competition to replace Canada’s CF-18s.  . . . .   “We need an open debate about whether these are the right planes, and to make sure we’re getting them for the right price,” he stated.   http://www.liberal.ca/newsroom/news-release/liberals-will-cancel-f-35-deal-and-hold-an-open-competition/ )

3.   NDP  New ships not jets, say NDP   . .   Layton did not write off the F-35 plan completely.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/CanadaVotes/News/2011/04/08/17922646.html

By Kristy Kirkup, Parliamentary Bureau  

NDP Leader Jack Layton makes his way to a roundtable discussion on his party’s crime prevention plan at Youth Resource Centre in Surrey, B.C., on April 7 2011. The NDP leader announced Friday that his party will invest in shipbuilding instead of F-35s. (CARMINE MARINELLI/QMI AGENCY)

ESQUIMALT, B.C. – Jack Layton wants to focus on shipbuilding investments instead of F-35s purchases, and table a ‘defence white paper’ to pinpoint domestic and foreign policy priorities.

“The New Democrat defence plan will focus Canada’s forces on defending Canada and Canadians,” Layton said Friday, on a campaign stop on Vancouver Island. “We will provide stable support to Canada’s troubled shipbuilding industry by focusing on a dependable policy of domestic procurement.”

The NDP plan commits to maintaining the defence investment outlined in the 2011 budget – $21 billion a year.

“Our defence policy is broken,” said Layton. “And it’s time for us to fix it.”

Layton’s defence plan puts Canada’s joint support ships at the heart of the procurement policy instead of fighter jets. The Parliamentary budget officer reported the Tory government’s plan to buy a fleet of F-35 jets to replace the aging CF-18s will cost about $30 billion.

“The current CF-18 fleet’s operational life extends to 2017 at the earliest,” said Layton. “Our current ships have reached the end of their operational lives. They need to be replaced immediately.”

Layton did not write off the F-35 plan completely.

“The time frame on the planes and whether or not we need those kinds of planes should be the subject of a national discussion before we make that kind of commitment,” said Layton. “That’s why we’re suggesting a white paper.”

The NDP leader says his defence announcement meshes with promoting jobs in the shipbuilding sector.

The party unveiled its policy in the B.C. riding of Esquimalt-Juan, where there is a naval base at CFB Esquimalt.

4.      GREEN PARTY   Six questions about the jet fighters

16 July 2010 – 5:31pm

OTTAWA – The Government’s announcement regarding the purchase of 65 F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed-Martin raises a number of questions and concerns. Elizabeth May, Leader of the Greens, says that these are questions for which Canadians deserve an answer.

Where is the security policy rationale for $9 billion in fighter jets?

What happened to the additional $7 billion contract in maintenance?

In what scenario are we fighting air to air combat?

Why have we ignored the criticism in the US Congress of Lockheed-Martin on these very jets for 50% cost over-runs, to date?

What happened to the spending freeze in the defence budget to fight the deficit?

What are the opportunity costs of this giant spending spree while Canada’s schools close, health care suffers, infrastructure crumbles, and greenhouse gases soar? 

“The opposition party – the Liberals – have already indicated that this deal will be reviewed and potentially cancelled if they are elected.  It therefore becomes the fiscal responsibility of the Conservatives – as a minority government on the eve of an election – to ensure that any contract signed has a no-penalty opt-out for at least one year.   Failure to do this due diligence will reflect directly on the Conservatives and they will be the ones held accountable for any future penalties,” said Eric Walton, International Affairs critic.