Should Canada drop the plan to buy F-35 jets and start over?

The Canadian government is expected to strip the Defence Department of its responsibility to buy new F-35 jet fighters after a damning auditor general's report.

The U.S. has bought F-35 jets, like this one at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Should Canada? (Devon Ravine/Northwest Florida Daily/Associated Press)Auditor General Michael Ferguson's report is expected to say that officials inside the Defence Department misled government ministers and did not provide accurate information on the jets.

CBC News has learned that the government is expected to set up a special secretariat of deputy ministers inside the Public Works Department to manage the program.

But opposition politicians say the process is flawed, and that the F-35s don't meet the requirements of the Canadian Forces.   They want the government to start over with the process to replace the aging CF-18s started over.

"It's completely deficient. Won't work in the Canadian Arctic. Not suited to our purposes. Completely overpriced. So we should start all over again," said NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair.

Liberal industry critic Marc Garneau suggested drawing up the requirements for the replacement jets and opening up the process to competitive bids.

Should Canada drop the plan to buy F-35s and start over from the beginning? Or does that suggestion waste time and money? Let us know what you think.



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