XPost: can.politics, bc.politics, ont.politics   
   XPost: sk.politics, man.politics, ab.politics   
   From: "@nyet.ca   
      
   Bloody incredible.   
      
   Someone find a way to force an election NOW.   
   ____________________________________   
      
   CBC News Posted: Jun 16, 2014   
      
   $100 BILLION defence spending plan laid out for industry   
      
   Department of National Defence spending plan includes aircraft, weapons,   
   gear for next 20 years   
      
      
   The Conservative government is proposing more than $100 billion in   
   defence spending on a series of projects that would see the Department   
   of National Defence get new fighter jets, rescue planes, helicopters,   
   drones, ships, satellites, uniforms and even rifles.   
      
   The Defence Acquisition Guide is a list of more than 200 separate   
   procurement projects the military hopes to undertake in the next 20   
   years. The guide is not a rock-solid program, but a road map of sorts   
   for the Canadian defence industrial sector.   
      
   The generic nature of the information in the guide has already cause   
   some consternation. Only a few minutes after publication, it had defence   
   watchers wondering whether the government had sneakily pushed through a   
   delay on the plan to buy new fighter jets for the air force, perhaps   
   pushing the decision back until after the 2015 election.   
      
   In the section describing the CF-18 replacement fighter program, the   
   guide suggests a contract may not be signed until 2018 or as late as 2020.   
      
   That would mean a major delay in a program the government had been   
   trying recently to move ahead quickly.   
      
   But sources tell CBC News the defence data is wrong and does not take   
   into account the work being done by the national fighter procurement   
   secretariat, which is run by the public works department.   
      
   Another source said the dates in the acquisition guide were notional   
   placeholder numbers.   
   No decision on CF-18 replacement   
      
   "The majority of the projects in this publication do not have formal   
   authority from the government and remain subject to change in terms of   
   scope, cost and schedule, including termination without any further   
   explanation or liability," said Johanna Quinney, press secretary to   
   Defence Minister Rob Nicholson.   
      
   The guide identifies a list of projects, assigns them each loose   
   capabilities and an even looser price estimate. For instance, the   
   Arctic/offshore patrol ship program is estimated in the guide at $1.5   
   billion, but the government has already announced more than $3 billion   
   in funding.   
      
   The government promised the guide as part of its new defence procurement   
   strategy. It suggested the guide would be a look-ahead for industry,   
   signalling which equipment and services the government wants to buy for   
   the military.   
      
   The government has promised the military will update the guide every   
   three years.   
      
   Public Works Minister Diane Finley told MPs in question period Monday   
   that the government would review fighter jet replacement report   
   documents over the coming weeks.   
   F-35 decision may come Tuesday   
      
   At stake are the political ramifications of a decision that is widely   
   expected to result in a $45-billion government plan to sole source the   
   purchase of F-35 joint strike fighters.   
      
   The government could put the question of which fighter will replace   
   Canada's aging fleet of CF-18 Hornet jets to a competition.   
      
   It could also order the military to make over its statement of   
   requirements, a decision which could amount to a future reset of the   
   whole program.   
      
   Industry sources tell CBC News they believe cabinet could decide this   
   week which way to go — perhaps as soon as tomorrow.   
      
   That decision was supposed to have been discussed at a cabinet meeting   
   last Tuesday, but defence industry sources say that didn't happen.   
      
   The government is said to be reluctant to announce its decision right   
   away. Observers suggest the announcement would likely come later in   
   Parliament's summer break.   
      
   Whatever the decision, the timing will be interesting: a decision this   
   week in favour of the F-35 would not necessarily result in a contract   
   this year. It could take until 2018 for an aircraft manufacturer to   
   start making planes for Canada.   
      
   That's a time frame Lockheed Martin, the maker of the F-35, suggested   
   earlier this year.   
      
   Monday's defence acquisition guide has provided no further clarity on   
   how and when the government intends to replace its CF-18s.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)