Air Force Chief Lt.-Gen. Andre Deschamps Contradicts Julian Fantino’s Claims About F-35 Training in Canada

There’s appears to be conflicting information coming from the head of the Air Force versus what Assistant Defence Minister Julian Fantino is saying about Canadian pilots training on the F-35.

Murray Brewster of the Canadian Press is reporting that CAS Lt.-Gen. Andre Deschamps told him that Canadian fighter pilots will be training on the F-35 in Florida for almost a decade and the military will have to study how to set up a similar program at home.

The comments by Lt.-Gen. Andre Deschamps stand in contrast to the iron-clad assurances Julian Fantino gave the House of Commons last month when it was first revealed that fighter instruction would take place in the U.S., Brewster reports.

“At some point, we would like to repatriate the training to Canada in whatever shape or form that would be suitable for us,” the chief of air staff said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

But Deschamps said there is a lot of homework to be done before that would happen, including a detailed assessment of how the U.S. and other allies strike a balance between airtime and simulator training on the highly advanced, multi-role fighter, according to the CP article.

Pentagon panel finds 'lack of confidence' in F-35 fighter design

OTTAWA — Citing a "lack of confidence" in the F-35's design, a special panel of Pentagon officials has recommended slowing production of the troubled stealth fighter while hundreds of repairs and fixes are implemented.

Canada's plan to purchase up to 65 of the jets is based on a very specific timetable, and a slower ramp-up in production could force a tough decision between paying more per plane or extending the life of the country's CF-18s.

The special panel was comprised of five high-level U.S. Defense Department officials charged with investigating the risks of moving ahead with full production of the stealth fighter before all the kinks have been ironed out.

While such problems are common in the development of new, state-of-the-art aircraft, the deficiencies are usually addressed before they begin rolling off the assembly line.

In the case of the F-35, military planners in the U.S., Canada and other countries had been hoping lessons learned in the past would allow for the quick development and deployment of the stealth fighter, with minimal troubleshooting after the fact.

Battle of the Wages study dispels myths about public sector wages

A comprehensive study released today by CUPE shows there's no evidence public sector workers are paid consistently more than those in similar jobs in the private sector.

Instead, overall average pay in the public sector is remarkably similar when compared against similar jobs in the private sector: only 0.5 per cent higher.

This public sector pay premium can be entirely explained by a smaller pay gap for women in the public sector, partly because of stronger pay equity rules in the public sector. Average pay for women in the public sector is 4.5 per cent higher than for women in similar jobs in the private sector, where the pay gap for women is considerably larger. In contrast, men in the public sector were paid 5.3 per cent less on average than men in similar occupations in the private sector.

Pay in the public sector isn't just more equitable for women: public sector pay scales are more equitable in all the dimensions we had data for: age, occupational group, and region. These results were consistent for all levels of government. Differences are especially significant at the top and bottom of the pay scales.

Voter Turnout: Thinking Outside the (Ballot) Box

Online voting alone won’t resolve the deficiencies in Canada’s electoral system, but new media holds great promise.

A great many Canadians don’t vote. Elections Canada has chronicled the decline in voter turnout for decades. Last month, it released the results of its National Youth Survey Report that presented data on youth participation during the 2011 federal election. The results were disappointing, albeit not surprising. Voter turnout among Generation Y remains low; its participation stymied by perceived barriers in access to the political process and a general lack of motivation.

On Dec. 7, Samara released its own report on citizen engagement. Canadians, its authors argue, are neither uninformed nor uninterested. Instead, they feel disenfranchised – alienated from a system that they believe is unresponsive, exclusive, and contains too few avenues for participation.

Both studies offer insight into a persistent thorn in the side of democratic legitimacy. If policy is more responsive to those who vote, then political decision-making may not reflect the interests of non-voters. With nearly four out of 10 Canadians abstaining from voting, politicians will presumably be more responsive to those whom they rely on for votes.

Manifold reforms have been proposed to address poor turnout rates. One controversial proposal currently being considered by Elections Canada is to conduct online voting. Despite critics’ resistance to the idea, more research into its practical viability is prudent and could potentially result in a more inclusive democratic process. But this proposal resorts to a narrow view of tackling the participatory deficit: Reducing political engagement to easier access to the ballot box. Innovative thinking around new mechanisms for accessible voting should be encouraged, but will not independently resolve the issue of low voter turnout in Canadian elections.

The Commons: Tomorrow’s problem

The Scene. Turning to the English portion of her remarks, Nycole Turmel attempted to round on the Prime Minister.

“The Conservatives are turning their backs on the world. The Conservatives are betraying future generations. They have set up bogus homemade targets and are not even a quarter of the way toward meeting this lame attempt at saving face,” she ventured in her particular way. “When will the Prime Minister take climate change seriously?”

This question was almost entirely rhetorical and almost definitely futile, but it was almost surely the query the NDP wanted on the evening news—a furious condemnation wrapped in a plaintive cry.

The Prime Minister was quite happy for the opportunity to stand and speak seriously.

“Mr. Speaker, in terms of climate change, we are pursuing policies domestically, nationally and internationally. We are working for the creation of an international protocol that will include all major emitters,” he declared. “What this government does not favour, what this government has never favoured and has been very clear on is we do not agree with a protocol that only controls a little bit of global emissions, not enough to actually make any difference but enough to transfer Canadian jobs overseas. We will never agree to that.”

Conservative insistence on destroying long-gun records 'perverse,' say opposition MPs

Quebec government says it will take the feds to court over maintaining records on the province's gun owners, but Prime Minister Stephen Harper says, 'The provinces have the right to pursue their own policies, but this government will not help [establish] a registry through the back door.'

PARLIAMENT HILL—Prime Minister Stephen Harper brushed off the threat of a court battle with Quebec over preservation of the federal long-gun registry’s database Tuesday, prompting opposition MPs to describe the Conservative’s determination to destroy $1-billion worth of information on firearms in Canada “perverse.”

Despite recent RCMP statements that destruction of the registry means a decade’s worth of federal records on rifles and shotguns will disappear once the government’s Bill C-19 takes effect—and there will no longer be records of long-gun transfers and sales—Mr. Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) told the Commons his government won’t help Quebec create a new registry “by the back door.”

“Our election promise is clear,” said Mr. Harper. “We don’t support a registry for long guns. This position has been clear for a long time. The provinces have the right to pursue their own policies, but this government will not help [establish] a registry through the back door.”

Transit City cancellation to cost $65M

Cancelling Transit City in favour of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's subway-focused plan will cost $65 million, TTC general manager Gary Webster says.

The Toronto Transit Commission's chief used the figure — which is $16 million more than the previous number cited — during the city's budget committee meeting on Tuesday.

Bruce McCuaig, CEO of the regional transportation agency Metrolinx, said in March the city would be liable for about $49 million in penalties, but said that number was likely to rise.

The province announced earlier this year that the province would support an Eglinton light rail line underground, effectively killing former mayor David Miller's Transit City plan.

When he took office last December, Ford said he would scrap Transit City because it would run at street-level and obstruct traffic.

Kremlin dismisses call for new elections as protesters press on

Just days after tens of thousands of Russians took to the streets to demand new parliamentary elections amid allegations of massive fraud in a Dec. 4 vote, the Kremlin has given its opponents an answer: No.

Playing down evidence that widespread ballot-box stuffing and voter intimidation marred the victory of his United Russia party, President Dmitry Medvedev announced that the newly elected State Duma will convene its first session on Dec. 21. That’s about three weeks ahead of usual practice, and seems chosen to take the wind out the sails of a protest movement that had chosen Dec. 24 as the date of its next big gathering to demand a new election.

Mr. Medvedev has promised that complaints about the Duma election will be investigated, but a Kremlin spokesman said the allegations, even if proven true, only affected 1 per cent of the total votes cast, and thus didn’t alter the final results. The opposition says election officials tinkered with millions of ballots in an effort to bolster United Russia, which won the race with just under 50 per cent of the vote, according to the official tally.

Criticism mounts over Ottawa’s decision to abandon Kyoto

The Conservative government is facing a barrage of criticism at home and abroad for its decision to pull out of the Kyoto Protocol, including assertions the move could be breaking federal law.

On Tuesday, Canada’s Environment Commissioner Scott Vaughan said he has a legal mandate to continue to inform Parliament of the government’s progress when it comes to meeting its targets under the binding climate accord.

Under the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act, Vaughan is obliged to provide yearly reports to MPs on the country’s efforts to meet its targets — even if the government pulls out of the agreement. Vaughan said he is working with a team of lawyers to determine what the implications of the government’s decision will be.

“If the act remains, then we will inform Parliament, and the question will be: How will we do this?” Vaughan said. “If the act remains an act of Parliament, then we will abide by the law.”

Green Party of Canada Leader Elizabeth May accused the Conservatives of breaking domestic law by withdrawing from the international climate-change accord — a move she says has made Canada a “pariah on the world stage.”

Blog post lands G20 activist in court

G20 activist Julian Ichim was ready for his day in court Tuesday, but the same couldn’t be said for the Crown.

Ichim appeared Tuesday at Old City Hall after he refused an OPP request last month to remove a blog post that contained the pseudonym of an undercover officer who had befriended him for more than a year before the Toronto summit in 2010.

But the Crown attorney familiar with the case wasn’t in attendance and the disclosure, which outlines the Crown’s case, wasn’t available until 4 p.m. The case was put over until January.

The Kitchener native, a self-described Marxist-Leninist and anarchist, was rounded up on the Saturday morning of G20 last year as one of the so-called conspirators. The charges were later dropped.

Ichim was in trouble again with the police this November, only three days after he “decided to take a stand,” and started a blog that published the name Khalid Mohammed, the pseudonym adopted by OPP investigator Const. Bindo Showan.