Alan Williams, the former assistant deputy minister who has been raising concerns about the F-35 for months, talks to the CBC about where responsibility lies. Philippe Lagasse reviews the Auditor General’s report and the lessons that should be learned.
Alan Williams, the former assistant deputy minister who has been raising concerns about the F-35 for months, talks to the CBC about where responsibility lies. Philippe Lagasse reviews the Auditor General’s report and the lessons that should be learned.
Once they had announced that the F-35 was Canada’s next fighter, moreover, Conservative ministers refused to question DND’s unsubstantiated estimates and figures until the aircraft’s widely reported cost overruns and technical difficulties could no longer be ignored. Hence, although the Auditor General focuses on the errors and oversights of DND and PWGCS, it is evident that Conservative ministers failed in their responsibilities, too.
More to the point, no ministers should be permitted to avoid their constitutional responsibility for the affairs of the departments, no matter how much ignorance or inexperience they claim. Allowing ministers to shift their responsibility onto their departments or officials, however poorly they performed, would undermine the very bedrock of our system of responsible government.
John Geddes reviews the recent history of military procurement.