Conservatives kept abreast of all F-35 problems, senior bureaucrats say

OTTAWA — Senior government officials claim in an internal document that Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Cabinet were kept up to speed every step of the way as the government moved to purchase the troubled F-35 stealth fighter.

This included a complete understanding of the cost overruns and delays plaguing the $25-billion fighter jet program as well as the controversial process National Defence and Public Works were following to acquire the plane.

The document, prepared this past spring in advance of a scathing auditor general’s report on the F-35, appears to have been designed to shift responsibility for the stealth fighter program’s mismanagement from the bureaucracy to the Conservatives.

Combined with the Harper government’s admission it knew the jets would cost $10 billion more than Canadians were being told before the election, the document may bolster allegations the Conservatives have kept voters in the dark about the stealth fighter program.

But one expert believes the document shows federal bureaucrats simply trying to deflect blame for the many problems plaguing the F-35 project over the years.

“Who do these bureaucrats think they are?” said former National Defence procurement chief Alan Williams, who has been critical of the F-35 program. “What they’ve written is to cover their own butts.”

In his report in April, Auditor General Michael Ferguson found a determined effort by Defence officials to twist rules, downplay problems and withhold information from parliamentarians and Canadians to ensure Canada purchased the plane.

The Harper government tried to distance itself from the problems identified in Ferguson’s report, promising to freeze and review the program as well as keep the door open to other options.

In doing so, it appeared to be putting the blame on the federal bureaucrats responsible for managing the F-35 program.

But its admission that it knew the fighters’ full costs weeks before the 2011 federal election has left open the door of a potential political cover-up.

The question-and-answer paper, which was circulated to senior officials at National Defence and Public Works but never released to the public, repeatedly asserts the Harper government was kept fully apprised of all aspects of the F-35 program.

“Key decision points within the approach were identified and consulted across Government, and briefed to Ministers to support them in making the final decision,” reads one section.

“The Department believes that lead Ministers and Cabinet had sufficient information and appreciation of risks to make key decisions.

“The risks, including cost and schedule developments, were fully briefed to the lead Ministers,” it adds in another section, “and ministerial documents included an extensive discussion on risks.”

Yet the officials also argue against some of the points Ferguson raised in his report, including the auditor general’s concerns over insufficient cost details, interdepartmental consultation and an overall lack of transparency.

They contend that there was a “high level” of discussions that went on between National Defence and other departments like Public Works and Industry Canada that were involved in the F-35 program.

The officials also argued that “a fair amount of the consultation process leading to a Government decision is done verbally” after Ferguson found an absence of documentation to support the departments’ plan to sole-source the F-35.

“It is unfair to compare a global, developmental program, against a set of standard protocols,” the officials added.

Public Works, which is responsible for overseeing all federal government purchases, found itself in heat after it was revealed approval of the sole-source plan was based on a 160-word letter from the Defence Department.

The officials also defended National Defence’s decision to base the F-35s’ costs on a 20-year period instead of the aircraft’s full 30-year life expectancy, which Ferguson raised as an issue.

National Defence and Public Works ultimately disagreed with Ferguson’s findings, while the Harper government said it agreed with the auditor general’s recommendations and would take steps to address the problems he raised.

A Commons’ committee studying Ferguson’s report gave National Defence a slap on the wrist last month for its handling of the F-35 stealth fighter program but stopped short of laying any blame for what some have described as a fiasco.

The Harper government is expected to table new cost estimates for the F-35 in the next week or so.

Original Article
Source: calgary herald
Author: Lee Berthiaume