Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Three F-35 questions the feds can’t answer — despite what Ambrose said

On Tuesday, the government could not answer three things.

It could not tell Canadians when its next generation fighter jet secretariat will be up and running. Despite what the minister of public works told the House of Commons, it could not say who or what body will be independently verifying fresh costing figures for the F-35 fighter. And, the government also could not say when that costing data will be available to Parliament.

Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose told the Commons Tuesday the government would “not table cost estimates from the Department of National Defence in this House until they are independently validated and verified, and we will make sure that we get those numbers right.”

But later, the government was unable to say who or what body would be doing the verification.

“I’m not sure,” Defence Minister Peter MacKay told reporters after question period, adding, “You’d have to ask Minister Ambrose.”

But Ambrose’s office said the answer would only come when the new fighter jet secretariat established within Public Works to oversee the procurement process was up and running. To get off the ground, the secretariat needs to establish its “terms of reference,” which will dictate how it will operate and what it will do.

When will those terms of reference be finalized?

“Sometime soon,” a spokesperson from Ambrose’s office told iPolitics.

And finding out who will be verifying the DND cost estimates will have to wait until those terms of reference are finished being established.

“When they’re finalized and the secretariat is up and running, we’ll refer your question to them,” Ambrose’s office said when asked who will be verifying the DND figures.

In April, the government established a seven-point action plan in response to the auditor general’s report on the F-35 procurement process, which put in place the secretariat at Public Works.

In its plan, the government commits to tabling annual updates on the fighter jet procurement to Parliament.

“These updates will be tabled within a maximum of 60 days from receipt of annual costing forecasts from the Joint Strike Fighter program office, beginning in 2012,” the plan states.

A report from the Globe and Mail Tuesday suggested that the government is prepared to go beyond that 60-day timeframe, which starts when DND receives its annual update from the JSF program office.

What’s in the update?

Every year, the U.S. Department of Defense releases a selected acquisition report (SAR) – an annual program update established by the department for major military projects – on the F-35 fighter jet.

In an order paper answer the Conservative government gave to NDP MP Matthew Kellway earlier this week, it stated that the 2011 U.S. selected acquisition report on the F-35 fighter jet “will be tabled in Parliament in accordance with the Government of Canada’s seven-point action plan announced on April 3, 2012.”

The SAR will be used as part of Canada’s update to Parliament, though it will not be the only information provided. According to the Globe, DND already has updated cost-per-plane figures from the United States.

But, according to sources, the intent is that all documents going to Parliament on the F-35 will now be funneled through the secretariat. Until that is established, MPs won’t see the update. Without knowing when the secretariat will be operational, it is unclear when that 60-day period will end. And without knowing that, it is also unclear when Canadians will see updated cost figures for the F-35.

After question period Tuesday, Kellway told reporters he felt the government was “ducking and diving” on the issue of costs.

“They don’t want to release these things, they’re holding off on releasing them as long as possible,” he said.

As for verifying the numbers, Kellway pointed out that there are a few U.S. bodies — like the Government Accountability Office and Congress’ cost assessment and program evaluation office — that already review the figures.

He also raised another question.

“Why do we have five DND employees working in the Joint Strike Fighter program office in the United States?” he asked. “What are those folks doing if not ensuring that the bilateral reports that we receive up here are accurate and reliable?”

Original Article
Source: iPolitics  
Author: Colin Horgan 

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