Trudeau's Liberal government first sought to purchase 18 new Super Hornet jets built by American manufacturer Boeing, before canning that plan about a year ago as trade tensions between the countries boiled over. An announcement followed that Canada was buying 18 used F-18s from Australia to supplement its existing CF-18 fleet, which dates from the early 1980s, and was due for replacement after about 20 years.
Over the summer, the government announced it would buy seven jets from Australia for parts. The Liberals had set aside $500 million for this purchase, but the final cost is still unclear.
Since the announcement to purchase Australia’s old planes, Sajjan has faced harsh criticism from opposition members who call the plan unacceptable, especially after a damning report from the auditor general of Canada less than a month ago.
Yet when asked if the purchase could be stopped, Sajjan replied, “Why would you want to stop it?”
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