16 Replies to “Agreed”

  1. a little OT here: Dion says conservatives “don’t have Liberal Convictions” In caucas meeting today.
    Lets hope Not, besides it should be “Don’t have Liberals Convicted Yet”.

  3. Kate is right that military contracts should not be job creation programs yet over the history of Canada (and many other countries) they have been. The expectation of the regions is to get their fair share of pork. Hence Conservative MPs have to play the game that they are doing the best they can to support the region that elected them. That is the way representative democracy works. Until citizens grow up and look beyond their own selfish interests it will always be thus.

  5. …reminds me of the Depression era Works Progress Administration…or WPA for short.
    Or what workers called it ‘We Piddle Around’.

  6. …not to rain on everyone’s parade, but who else would create a job project that would benefit regions?
    I remember up at Cold Lake back in the 80’s when the oil jobs fell through because of NEP. Talk about a ghost town overnight. If it wasn’t for the Air Base that area would be like Uranium City till the oil prices came back up in the 90’s.
    So, yes, pork barrelling, favours and so on are a way of life for the government. Just hope your area is on the receiving end.
    And totally agree with Fritz. But when it comes to family and bills, it is good to have a government job nearby.

  7. Hey we all know there are political realities in managing a country. BUT this contract was signed so that the military could get their heavy lift capability expeditiously. If it gets mired in a “me-too” pissing competition that slows delivery then these guys will be proven as no better than the Lieberals.
    I have already written to several cabinet members and local MPs and I am serious in saying that I will not vote for them if I detect any contract tampering for provincial gain.
    Personally it would not bother me if 100% of the contracts are fulfilled in the USA provided the contract is completed on-time on-budget.

  8. tomax7: Your comments are bang on and that is the way things have always been done in Canada. The problem is, this Keynesian economic practice has brought the exact bomb and bust situation we complain about. Government job programs never last. The favoured regions always win the contracts. The wealth is never spread around to benefit those areas most in need of a boost. The West is usually left out in the cold, for example, and the military hardware produced is much more costly than if just purchased in the open market.
    We also end up with military hardware no one else would subjugate their soldiers to. The famed Iltis comes to mind. If duck hunters won’t buy it, is it any good to the military? The Iltis original cost was around $30K but the price came in at around $80+K from our famous military hardware producer; Bombardier. It wouldn’t make it up a hill with 4 soldiers aboard except in 1st gear, and a shotgun pellet would penetrate it’s armour. Meanwhild, a real Jeep was around $9K at that time (1984).

  9. spot on gunney…the first time I took an Iltis out for a spin, I promptly headed to the OR and filed for my release…..no way on earth I was going into combat in that piece of crap

  10. Tomax7, are you saying that CFB Cold Lake was put there as a make work project? It was put there many moons ago precisely because there wasn’t much there. Less chance to damage anything when jets, bombs and whatever fall out of the sky.
    Now putting the Airborne in Petawawa where there is no airfield was political. So was moving the airforce out of Edmonton so they could turn the second longest runway in the commonwealth into a parking lot for tanks. Buying CF-5s so they could be built in Montreal (and later sold to third world countries) was political.
    While I have nothing wrong with Boeing putting some of their contracts into various parts of the country (and indeed it makes good sense), I don’t believe it should be a major condition of any sale. The fact that the world is a lot smaller these days and having your operations spread out only makes good business sense. Just check out where all the parts for a 747 assembled in Everett Washington. They come from litterally around the world.

  11. my introduction to porkbarreling was a couple word processing systems at a private college. wtf was the mfg’s name? cant recollect, twas some 15 yrs ago now.
    anyway, the floppy disks were fixed format, there were some 8 or 9 timing holes punched equadistant from each other in a circle near the big hole in the middle.
    the whole word processing system was utterly useless for anything else including the printer which had some interface Ive never seen before or since.
    the system was mfg’ed in canada.
    nothing was compatable with the intel based XTs used in the other courses. a collosal waste of money. I mused at the time I bet someone in gubbamint procurement had shares in the company or sumptin.

  13. With eight of the thirteen largest military contractors located in the province of Queerbeck, what the hell do you expect?
    The troops in Afganistan are still bitching about defective hand-grenades, (manufactured in Queerbeck-of course- and flogged to the DND for over fifty bucks per. (Italy has one of the largest grenade manufacturing companies in the world- their total mfg costs per frag are just over two dollars and fifty cents.)

  14. Tex, you missed my point about having a Government placed job nearby helps. You did however pick up on my other point of most government placed jobs are political with your comments of the Airborne.
    You did forget to mention another major political move, moving Calgary’s Currie Barracks to Edmonton, which voted Liberal.
    But back to my Cold Lake remark. My point was it is good thing Airbase was there in the 80’s, otherwise Grand Centre, Cold Lake, Bonneville, Pierceland, and surrounding areas would be a ghost town.
    Government money keeps the local economy artifically afloat when the real market moves the other direction. The skill is knowing when to quit floating it till the next economic wave comes in, or just let it down slowly if it is a dead area.
    That’s why Quebec gets a lot of jobs, both political and economic. Think of the unemployment that would result if Market forces determined where jobs are. This also would allow the FLQ to make a come back promising phantom jobs.
    Remember CF-18 maintenance contract? Winnipeg lost on that one, a natural repair point for aeronautics, but Quebec got it.
    I’m actually surprized the government is letting major corporations move their headquarters out to Calgary.
    Wait till Toronto starts loosing more.

  15. tomax,
    happens all of the time…Esso being the most recent.
    There is actually a flight out of toronto to the suburbs because of the tax and traffic situation.
    Anyway, on topic. I agree fight for it afterwards. In this case the military needs the contract. However, where is the PMO on this, I am surprised they are letting the regional ministers duke it out….

  16. …yeah I’m getting worried Mr. Harper isn’t doing ‘much’ from this viewpoint.
    Like Caledonia, like this contract, a leader takes the reins and makes unpopular decisions that won’t please anyone, but it has to be done. That is a true sign of a leader.
    Unfortunately in Canada, that kind of leader is voted out next election by whiney airhead types from certain sides of the country.
    So maybe Harper is playing it smart.

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