WILPF Canada sent a package to every member of the Standing Committee on National Defence and the Senate Committee on Security and National Defence to conduct a public inquiry into the planned purchase of Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets. Canada’s plan to buy 88 new F-35s for $19 billion is the second most expensive federal procurement in Canadian history. The U.S. Congress has conducted hearings on the F-35 but Canada has not.
WILPF Canada is demanding that our elected officials in the House of Commons and our appointed Senators do their due diligence and study the social, climate, environmental and financial risks of the fighter jets before any contract is signed. Under legislation, the federal government is supposed to conduct consultations with Indigenous communities to ensure free, prior and informed consent and a gender-based analysis to understand the impact of procurement and policies on women in Canada – these requirements have not been done and released to the public.
We sent each member a copy of our report “Soaring: The Harms and Risks of Fighter Jets and Why Canada Must Not Buy a New Fleet.” Read our letter to Standing Committee chair John McKay and our letter to Senate Committee chair Tony Dean. We did not receive any reply. Tell your MP that you want a full public inquiry into the F-35 purchase and that you do not want Canada to buy new fighter jets but to build a green care economy.
Please also read our 2022 UN Submission “The Militarization of Indigenous Land in Canada“
