LAST WEEK, when our top soldier caught flak for flying a government plane to the Caribbean for a family vacation, he clung to Peter MacKay as a personal flotation device.
The defence minister himself had OK’d the unorthodox use of a Challenger jet. (Gen. Walt Natynczyk’s holiday was delayed because of a patriation ceremony at CFB Trenton.)
Whatever one thinks of the propriety of that particular trip, Mr. MacKay’s endorsement in such matters has turned into more of a millstone than a lifeline. The minister is now in far more hot water than the military chief, after it was revealed he used a search-and-rescue helicopter to hitch a ride back from a remote fishing lodge in Newfoundland in July 2010. From Gander, he took a Challenger flight to Ontario for an announcement and then doubled back to Halifax so he could make it to his Central Nova riding in time for a lobster carnival.
Mr. MacKay says he used the Challenger jet for official business. Let us give him the benefit of the doubt. But his explanation for the commandeering of a Cormorant helicopter — that he took a long-delayed opportunity to observe a search-and-rescue demonstration — doesn’t hold water. How much can one realistically learn during a hastily arranged half-hour ride?
Availing oneself of a search-and-rescue asset is a far greater sin than hopping on an executive jet. The Cormorants are on standby for real emergencies and should not be displaced on a whim, whereas the Challengers are intended for VIP transportation.
In defence of the Harper government, the use of the Challengers has been cut by 80 per cent since it took office. The fleet of six spends 70 per cent of its time in the hangar because cabinet ministers now fly mostly commercial.
Mr. MacKay should have known the chopper episode would come back to bite him. While Canadians deserve to know who is blowing their money, and how, it is highly suspicious that all these explosive details stockpiled at DND have suddenly been turned into ammo.
The timing coincides with the delivery of a major report to the government — itself leaked to the national media — which advocates reorganizing the Forces, chopping 11,000 personnel, most in the Ottawa bureaucracy, in order to realize savings of $1 billion a year.
The real disservice to taxpayers would be if the government retreated and shelved this report simply to stop the high-level strafing.
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The defence minister himself had OK’d the unorthodox use of a Challenger jet. (Gen. Walt Natynczyk’s holiday was delayed because of a patriation ceremony at CFB Trenton.)
Whatever one thinks of the propriety of that particular trip, Mr. MacKay’s endorsement in such matters has turned into more of a millstone than a lifeline. The minister is now in far more hot water than the military chief, after it was revealed he used a search-and-rescue helicopter to hitch a ride back from a remote fishing lodge in Newfoundland in July 2010. From Gander, he took a Challenger flight to Ontario for an announcement and then doubled back to Halifax so he could make it to his Central Nova riding in time for a lobster carnival.
Mr. MacKay says he used the Challenger jet for official business. Let us give him the benefit of the doubt. But his explanation for the commandeering of a Cormorant helicopter — that he took a long-delayed opportunity to observe a search-and-rescue demonstration — doesn’t hold water. How much can one realistically learn during a hastily arranged half-hour ride?
Availing oneself of a search-and-rescue asset is a far greater sin than hopping on an executive jet. The Cormorants are on standby for real emergencies and should not be displaced on a whim, whereas the Challengers are intended for VIP transportation.
In defence of the Harper government, the use of the Challengers has been cut by 80 per cent since it took office. The fleet of six spends 70 per cent of its time in the hangar because cabinet ministers now fly mostly commercial.
Mr. MacKay should have known the chopper episode would come back to bite him. While Canadians deserve to know who is blowing their money, and how, it is highly suspicious that all these explosive details stockpiled at DND have suddenly been turned into ammo.
The timing coincides with the delivery of a major report to the government — itself leaked to the national media — which advocates reorganizing the Forces, chopping 11,000 personnel, most in the Ottawa bureaucracy, in order to realize savings of $1 billion a year.
The real disservice to taxpayers would be if the government retreated and shelved this report simply to stop the high-level strafing.
Origin
Source:
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