NDP Leader Jack Layton says the NDP would ensure all new military missions are subject to review and approval by Parliament. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)
Jack Layton says the NDP would prioritize investment in naval ships over new fighter jets as part of a broader plan to refocus Canada's defence policy.
"Instead of focusing on F-35 fighter jets, I’ll get the job done when it comes to building joint support ships for our naval forces," he said Friday from Esquimalt, B.C.
The NDP would also commit to developing a white paper to chart the future course of defence needs within 12 months of taking office, Layton said, noting that Canada hasn't issued a white paper on defence since 1994.
Layton said the NDP would commit to defence spending levels outlined in the latest budget, but noted that his party would have different defence priorities, which include:
“We need a made-in-Canada defence plan that ensures our defence procurement needs match our domestic security and foreign policy objectives,” he said.
The NDP plan would help Canada's shipbuilding industry by helping keep expertise in Canada while providing stable employment, Layton said.
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is strongly defending the F-35 fighter jets as a replacement for Canada's CF-18s, despite reports that the planes will cost far more than estimated.
Layton also said he would ensure that the command of Canada's Pacific fleet stays in Esquimalt, B.C., similar to a promise made Thursday by Harper.
Earlier this week, media reports suggested the navy was planning to move some top command and operational jobs at CFB Esquimalt, on Vancouver Island, to its headquarters in Halifax.
With files from The Canadian Press
Commentary by the Ottawa Mens Centre
Ha, Ha, Ha,
The only military experience or practice that Jack Layton has ever has was in
the front line trenches of the Feminist War on Men, called the White Ribbon
Campaign where he was and remains the puppet leader of the Extreme Feminist
Lobby group that has as its goal, the criminalization of the male gender, the
removal of all men's legal rights to enable the female same sex brigade to use
men for just two primary purposes, to use them as unwitting s-perm donors and
payers of support for women who don't believe children deserve a father in their
lives other of course for the purpose of donating (without consent) their sperm
and to pay support and to prevent them economically from a new relationship,
with a woman of course.
Jack Layton does not support a Legal Presumption of Equal Parenting because that
would be about the greatest offense of heresy against feminist myths that he
could commit.
If you are a Canadian father and voting in the next election, just remember, a
vote for Jack is a vote to put men in jail for simply being fathers.
www.OttawaMensCentre.com