As the Trudeau government plans to buy 88 new fighter jets for a price tag of $19 billion, the second most expensive procurement in Canadian history, WILPF Canada is sounding the alarm.
WILPF Canada is releasing our new 48-page report Soaring: The Harms and Risks of Fighter Jets and Why Canada Must Not Buy a New Fleet. The report examines the past and present harmful impacts, including environmental, climate, nuclear, financial, socio-cultural and gender-based, of fighter jets and the air force bases where they are stationed.
With this report, WILPF Canada is calling on the federal government to be transparent with Canadians and with Indigenous communities about the adverse impacts and the full costs of a new fleet of fighter jets. We are asking the federal government to conduct and publicize a full life-cycle cost analysis, an environmental assessment, a public health study and a gender-based analysis of the fighter jet procurement before any final decision is made.
Along with the report, is also a 2-page summary in English and a 2-page summary in French. We are encouraging Canadians to sign Parliamentary petition e-3821 to let Members of Parliament know that they are opposed to the purchase of new costly, carbon-intensive combat aircraft.