F-35s

I think the big question is why would we want two different types of planes for security? The amount of money and planning that has gone into this purchase is enormous and if it is fear then that just doesn't make real sense when we are sitting beside a nation that is about 8.5 times larger than ours in population and mostly armed to the teeth (probably not actually but one is sometimes left with that impression)! 

Personally I say to complete the F-35 purchase because it is the most economically viable purchase for us (already reviewed so many times); requires the same upgrades and maintenance for the entire fleet. We did build many many airplanes ourselves during the Second World War especially in 1940 when Britain stood alone with the Commonwealth (which includes Canada). We need to find again our absolutely excellent talents at doing all of this things. Who knows where we will purchase the next set of stealth aircraft after the F-35s but likely we should be thinking about it for the future instead of living in dream land? Certainly our military is always thinking ahead. We need to support them with their proposals when they are submitted and not take so long to fruition. 

Free Trade, likely going to be an election issue which in a way is a pity as I personally think we should move away from this current Free Trade deal with Mexico and the United States. Perhaps only individual items although the United States President has said he doesn't need anything that we make so we are free to find new buyers without feeling that we are leaving them in a lurch. Free Trade always had the problem that it destroyed our local industries (except Farming which we protected). We made that choice in 1988 for free trade for short term gain but long term dismemberment of our local industries (out competed/bought out and they disappeared into conglomerates owned by the United States). Tariff on softwood lumber we got during the last administration and the Free Trade deal was still in force; not really a new item. Our dollar is low and it looks like we are getting this huge break and here come the tariffs. Anything is an excuse to tariff us! What we need to do and continue to need to do is to restart our local small industries so that we do not have to buy externally. If decisions are made that close the American car plants here than we buy elsewhere - it is not really our decision but then we have our car industries (foreign owned) that produce locally and we can buy from them (we could buy Chinese EV cars and remove the tariff if they promise to build them here with Canadian materials and use Canadian personnel!). The American car plants make their own choices as to whether or not they want to lose a consumer base of 41.5 million people; if they let the President of the United States make the choice for them that is something we can do nothing about particularly. It has cost us in Ontario a lot of money to keep them here since 1965 and still will for quite a while yet even if they are not here!.

We have already paid for the first set of F-35s soon to be delivered. I see no value in having two types of aircraft to service. The next set can be from somewhere else if that is the choice we make. By then there will be a different administration in Washington and one doesn't know the future. As the little one around the elephant we just have to go with the flow really; verbally fighting back doesn't work with a neighbour (look at Ukraine and Russia) and we long ago made the decision that we wanted to be our own country (1867) which we are and can continue to be. We just need to move forward; get the pipelines built and find new markets (Canada itself has huge building projects that are needed in personal housing alone and we ship our oil south to the United States to be refined and then buy it back at three times what we sell it for). Build the pipelines and refineries as needed.

Our internal needs need to be managed inside the country; no more sharing across our huge shared border. The friendship between Americans and Canadians on a personal level will stay because we want it to. We are learning a lesson about politics; all of us. When we let big business own politics then the individual on the ground does not benefit and gradually loses the coverage that government provides as big business eats away at the services. Big business only takes care of itself and has no interest in the people of a country except as workers and when they no longer provide them with a service they need (at the cheapest rate the businesses can arrange) then they become liabilities and they will use their ownership of government to diminish the services in whatever way possible that provide for the retirees and the children as there are billions of people in the world.

Being part of the EU is an interesting idea. Their organization is more flexible and we, as a people, more closely resemble the EU at the moment. Certainly the United States was also similar during the last administration and many of the ones prior to that much more similar to the EU in their world outlook. In fact the United States has led the way since that fateful day at Pearl Harbour in 1941 when infamy looked them in the eye until this moment in time. Did they become the world leader because they wanted to? Maybe not but Pearl Harbour showed them they didn't have the luxury of sitting back and watching. Myself I do not think that we ever do really; there will always be ego maniacs that want to be world conquerors. They always go after the strongest or the biggest on their way (most times they pretend to be friendly before they stick the knife into their neighbour's back or anyone else). But that doesn't protect the weaker by any means! The other big item is that the ego maniacs lie all the time; they do not make friends and they take what they want when they can. Russia's Putin certainly fits that description at this moment in time. One is wise to be wary of Russia's Putin.