This has emerged as opposition parties seized on a warning that Japan may cancel its F-35 order if the price increased and a British minister's admission that his government didn't know how much it would pay for each stealth fighter.
Documents obtained by Postmedia News through access to information show that, since the Conservative government announced in July 2010 that Canada would be purchasing 65 F-35s for $9 billion, plus another $7 billion in maintenance costs, the Defence Department has been tirelessly tracking what the media are writing about the jets. The information, which includes blogs and Twitter, is compiled into reports delivered to senior officials every few weeks.
The reports include a breakdown of which journalists are writing about the stealth fighters, whether their stories are positive or negative and whether the articles addressed the F-35's performance, delivery schedule or price. One report, from Oct. 17, 2011, notes that, over the preceding 15 months, nearly 2,900 articles had been published on the F-35, the majority of which were critical of the purchase.
When asked about the stealth fighter in the House of Commons, the Conservative government has repeatedly highlighted the F-35's expected capabilities, but the report notes the vast majority of the articles written about the jet aren't about its performance, but its cost.
"Adding to the criticism is confusion over how costs should be calculated, with multiple and conflicting estimates detracting from the credibility of official sources," the report reads.
In fact, it adds, "the absence of a single, authoritative figure on estimated per-plane cost is leaving the field open to speculation, and detracting from the credibility of spokespeople on related issues such as (the F-35's) performance."
Even now, the exact cost for each F-35 remains shrouded in mystery both in Canada and abroad.
Original Article
Source: ottawa citizen
Author: Lee Berthiaume
No comments:
Post a Comment