Beyond The Commons

Aaron Wherry covers all the goings-on in and around Parliament Hill. Follow Aaron on Twitter: @aaronwherry

Categories: Beyond The Commons, Capital Read

Too little, too late

by Aaron Wherry on Friday, March 18, 2011 9:56am - 6 Comments

Rather quietly, the government seems to have released some kind of paperwork related to the purchase of new fighter jets.

Some 55 F-35-related documents were apparently tabled before the Parliamentary Procedure and House Affairs Committee Thursday, however, those inside the committee room were not immediately aware of it … NDP defence critic Jack Harris slammed the latest figures that include select U.S. government tables that have been deemed unclassified, suggesting the breakdown still doesn’t constitute an “independent cost analysis.” “What they’ve provided now under duress is something that’s totally inadequate,” he said.

The Parliamentary Budget Office is apparently experiencing similar communication issues with the Defence Department. And so it apparently falls upon our John Geddes to sort through it all.

Tags: contempt, F-35, Jack Harris, John Geddes, parliamentary budget officer, privilege

More by Aaron Wherry

http://secondthots.blogspot.com Dennis_F

So we're going to have an election because the opposition isn't happy enough with the government's efforts to cost future programs? This should be fun.

Out There

It's not just the opposition that is unhappy – some of us taxpayers would kind of like to know how our money is going to be spent.

http://secondthots.blogspot.com Dennis_F

You think we need an election over a funding dispute for a couple of programs, the details of which have already been provided to some degree, and will be during an election?

I concede that some of these things can build up as part of larger narrative. But it's still a big leap, isn't it?

a) You have to convince Canadians that things are that bad. I don't think we're there yet.

b) You also have to convince Canadians that Iggy would make things better. I'm not sure if we'll ever get there.