Canadians across the country are urging the federal government not to acquire 88 new carbon intensive fighter jets pegged at $77 billion.
The bottom line is, Canada should not buy fighter jets because they harm people and the climate.
The main purpose of fighter jets is to carry bombs and missiles endangering the lives of innocent civilians in foreign countries. These new fighter jets will have a devastating climate impact as they release excessive carbon emissions and toxic chemicals. New fighter jets will cause carbon lock-in by entrenching fossil fuel based militarism for years to come, preventing Canada from meeting any of its global climate agreement commitments.
One hour of operation of the F-35 costs over $40,000 and uses up to 18,500 pounds of fuel per hour. With a sticker price of $19 billion and a total cost of at least $77 billion, these fighter jets will divert public funds away from investments in the care economy such as education, health care, affordable housing, Indigenous well being and a just transition to a green economy.
Nov. 22 to 26 as been identified as a Canada wide week of action against the procurement of these new warplanes, a contract for which is likely to be signed in 2022. Canada does not need to purchase fighter jets. Let’s cancel this terrible investment in war.
Sandra Hartline
Nelson