Conservatives demand clarity, timelines on next steps for fighter jets
The federal Conservatives are demanding the Liberal government provide more clarity on the next phase of Canada's search for a new fighter jet -- including when a replacement for the military's aging CF-18s will finally be announced.
The call comes days after the government announced Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth fighter and the Sweden's Saab Gripen are the only two planes still in contention for the $19-billion contract to supply Canada with 88 new fighters.
The announcement confirmed an earlier report by The Canadian Press that Boeing's Super Hornet had been tossed out of the competition. Public Services and Procurement Canada has refused to say why Boeing's bid did not make the cut.
The department has also been vague about what happens next in Canada's decade-long search for a new fighter jet, saying it will decide the way forward in the coming weeks.
"While the procurement process includes predetermined steps and decision points, a degree of flexibility was also built in to respond to the broad range of possible evaluation outcomes," spokesman Jean-Francois Letourneau said in an email.
"Canada will take time to carefully analyze next steps for the process, which could include either proceeding to final negotiations with the top-ranked bidder, or entering into a competitive dialogue, whereby the two remaining bidders would be asked to submit revised proposals, followed by finalization with the resulting top-ranked bidder."
The government has not said whether Lockheed Martin or Saab is the current frontrunner.
Conservative defence critic Kerry-Lynne Findlay said the fact the government doesn't know what it will do is a concern, particularly given how long the search for a new fighter has taken.
Rather than going back to the two companies and reopening their bids, she added, the government needs to avoid any further delays and set a firm timeline for when a winner will be selected.
"We're asking them to stick with certain timelines so that we all know when to expect an announcement on a final decision, and not go to ... some further renegotiation," Findlay said Friday.
"Just make a decision. There has to be a decision. It has to be made soon."
The government has repeatedly said Canada's first new fighter jet would be delivered by 2025 and the last by 2032. It has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into the CF-18s to keep them flying to that date, at which point they will be around 50 years old.
But it appeared to hedge on those long-established timelines in announcing the final two bidders this week.
While the plan is still to award a contract next year, Defence Department spokesman Daniel Le Bouthillier said the first aircraft is now expected "as early as 2025, with all 88 jets expected to be delivered by the early 2030s."
Findlay said certainty is required for the military and industry to make sure Canada has the aircraft it needs to defend itself.
"There needs to be more certainty in the process as they move toward that final decision," she said. "And we need this equipment, and we've needed it for a very long time."
Canada first started its search for a new fighter jet in 1997 when it joined the United States and other allies as a partner in developing the F-35.
Stephen Harper's Conservative government then committed to buying 65 F-35s without a competition in 2010, before concerns about the stealth fighter's cost and capabilities forced it back to the drawing board.
The Liberals promised in 2015 not to buy the F-35, but to instead launch an open competition to replace the CF-18s. They later planned to buy 18 Super Hornets without a competition as an "interim" measure to ensure Canada had enough aircraft until permanent replacements arrived.
Some at the time questioned that plan, suggesting the Liberals were trying to find a way to lock Canada into the Super Hornet without opening itself up to a legal challenge from Lockheed Martin or any other jet makers.
But the government cancelled the plan after Boeing launched a trade dispute with Montreal aerospace firm Bombardier over the latter's C-Series planes. It launched the current bidding process in July 2019, at which point both the Super Hornet and F-35 were allowed to compete.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2021.
IN DEPTH
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Trudeau, key election players to testify at foreign interference hearings. What you need to know
The public hearings portion of the federal inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian elections and democratic institutions are picking back up this week. Here's what you need to know.
Who is supporting, opposing new online harms bill?
Now that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's sweeping online harms legislation is before Parliament, allowing key stakeholders, major platforms, and Canadians with direct personal experience with abuse to dig in and see what's being proposed, reaction is streaming in. CTVNews.ca has rounded up reaction, and here's how Bill C-63 is going over.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
TREND LINE What Nanos' tracking tells us about Canadians' mood, party preference heading into 2024
Heading into a new year, Canadians aren't feeling overly optimistic about the direction the country is heading, with the number of voters indicating negative views about the federal government's performance at the highest in a decade, national tracking from Nanos Research shows.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Local Spotlight
Marmot in the city: New resident of North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale a 'rock star rodent'
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
Relocated seal returns to Greater Victoria after 'astonishing' 204-kilometre trek
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Ottawa barber shop steps away from Parliament Hill marks 100 years in business
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
'It was a special game': Edmonton pinball player celebrates high score and shout out from game designer
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
'How much time do we have?': 'Contamination' in Prairie groundwater identified
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.
'Why not do it together?': Lifelong friends take part in 'brosectomy' in Vancouver
While many people choose to keep their medical appointments private, four longtime friends decided to undergo vasectomies as a group in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.
Grain-gobbling bears spark 'no stopping' zone in Banff National Park
A popular highway in Alberta's Banff National Park now has a 'no stopping zone' to help protect two bears.
Deer family appears to accept B.C. man as one of their own
B.C. resident Robert Conrad spent thousands of hours on Crown land developing an unusual bond with deer.
Doorbell video shows family of black bears scared off by dog in Sudbury, Ont.
A Sudbury woman said her husband was bringing the recycling out to the curb Wednesday night when he had to make a 'mad dash' inside after seeing a bear.