Do what’s best for the Navy

Well here we go again with the government de jour messing up plans to re-equip our

Armed Forces with new assets, in this case the Navy, with new ships.

Why can’t these people get anything right as far as military procurement is concerned? Both parties, the Liberals and the Conservatives, have continually messed up since the days of John Diefenbaker. The NDP is not involved in this discussion as it does not give defence spending any sort of priority. Probably why they will never get elected with a majority. Canadians are incredibly proud of our military in spite of the ongoing incompetence of our federal government.

In fairness I get it that the European proposal was an 11th-hour proposal and, of course, we want as much work done in Canada as possible. My question is why are these new programs always so late and bungled up in telling potential suppliers exactly what our design specifications and planned usage for these new ships are?

I also question why on earth we would ever get a proposal from Lockheed Martin after the F-35 stealth fighter debacle. In fact Lockheed and its partner, British firm BEA, propose a ship that is still on the drawing board. Again can you say F-35? Why would we expect any better for this design concept.

It appears the European proposal addresses the Canadian content issue, so what is wrong with building a proven design with a fixed price?

Even the U.S. is considering this design, let’s get our act together, put the bureaucracy in its place and do what’s best for the Navy and the stressed out taxpayers.

John C. Duquette Port Colborne