Is Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Office Putting Canadian Military Personnel At Risk?

Defence Watch

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office wants to add to his international travels by painting the Canadian Forces grey Airbus with some bright colours. But is the Prime Minister’s Office putting Canadian military lives at risk like some at DND and in the Canadian Forces worry?

This issue was first reported earlier this year, when it emerged that the Canadian Forces was objecting to the PMO’s desire to repaint the Airbus, arguing that since the aircraft can be used in a military context then having bright colours would put it, its crew and passengers at risk when it is used for military operations.

The Prime Minister’s Office said recently that one of the five government aircraft could be painted in brighter colours when the plane next goes in for maintenance. That followed a report in the Huffington Post, which stated the Airbus is scheduled to go for maintenance in August 2013.

As Postmedia and other media outlets have reported, the grey plane has been a sticking point between the PMO and the Defence Department in the past. Prime Minster Stephen Harper’s office asked repeatedly whether it would be possible to paint the aircraft white with red Government of Canada logos for the end of June 2010, according to the reports. Defence Minister Peter MacKay decided at the time that the plane should keep its dull colour scheme.

“As a result of the multi-role nature of this aircraft, which includes the transportation of Canadian Forces personnel and equipment into areas of operations, it has been painted in a colour scheme appropriate for those tasks,” MacKay said in a June 2009 email, acquired under Access-to-Information laws in February by the media.

MacKay noted that four of the smaller Challenger jets, used for transporting VIPs, already had a red and white colour scheme.

Harper’s associate director of communications Andrew MacDougall has said a colour change for the Airbus aircraft isn’t guaranteed. “Any change to the paint scheme would only be contemplated if it were cost neutral, and performed as part of the Department of National Defence’s regular maintenance cycle,” MacDougall stated.

According to documents obtained by the Huffington Post, one design for a new paint scheme has already been rejected. The rejected design was to cover one side of the tail with a graphic depicting the East Coast, with the opposite side painted with native art (see below), it added.

So who will win out here? Will MacKay be able to convince the PMO that grey should be the colour scheme for the Airbus? Are the concerns voiced by DND/the CF about bright colours for the Airbus valid?

Origin
Source: Ottawa Citizen