George S. talks to the Defence Minister. Around the eight-minute mark he talks about the helicopter ride and around the 13-minute mark he vaguely endorses an NDP-Liberal merger.

A couple things about that explanation for the helicopter ride.

First, Mr. MacKay says the announcement he had to attend in London, Ontario came at “the height of the recession.” That announcement was on July 9, 2010. The recession ended in 2009.

Second, Mr. MacKay says he got a call saying he needed to be in London “tomorrow.” As the Star reported in December, Mr. MacKay’s office contacted air force officials on July 6, three days before the announcement. As John Geddes has noted, that General Dynamics had won a contract had been known for a year.