DELAYS DEFINE DEFENCE
More than a year has passed since the Liberals rose to power — enough time to make some calls on the rising stars and falling ones on Parliament Hill, and the winners and losers under the Trudeau administration.
He emerged on the scene as Justin Trudeau’s “Bad Ass” wing man, with accolades and expectations he would be good news for the Canadian military.
But a little more than a year after being named National Defence Minister, the shine is off Harjit Sajjan.
His mandate letter from the prime minister required him to launch a competition to replace the CF-18 fighter aircraft.
Instead, Sajjan championed the purchase of 18 Boeing Super Hornet jets as a stopgap measure, delaying an actual competition to replace the CF18 fleet for at least another five years.
It was a good move for his boss, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as it pushed off a government decision on the controversial F-35 stealth fighter until well after the next election.
But critics say the Super Hornet deal is bad news for the Canadian military. They expect the eventual competition for new fighter jets to be dragged out for years, resulting in the Royal Canadian Air Force not receiving a replacement for the CF-18 fleet until the late 2020s or early 2030s.
Sajjan was also supposed to strengthen the Royal Canadian Navy while at the same time moving ahead with the shipbuilding strategy put in place by the previous Conservative government. Besides some changes to that strategy, the navy has not seen any new initiatives or additional funding to strengthen its position.
Sajjan also had the job of helping renew Canada’s commitment to United Nations peace operations. While that intention has been announced, action on that front has still to materialize.
Sajjan said the high point of his first year in office was ensuring that a new defence review got underway. The review was supposed to be released in December, but was delayed until sometime in early 2017.
Sajjan acknowledged some regrets. Military personnel who have retired are waiting months to receive their pensions. Those dealing with posttraumatic stress issues have found little or no help from the military system.
Sajjan blamed the previous Conservative government for cutting the administrative sections of the Canadian Forces and the Defence Department, which are needed for such services as dealing with pension processing and providing mental health support for troops.
“The pensions, the wait times were unacceptable, and reducing the wait times is very important to me,” Sajjan explained.