Prime Minister Mark Carney has asked for a review of Canada’s plan to purchase a fleet of F-35 fighter jets.

The deal with Lockheed Martin and the U.S. government is for 88 planes at a cost of about US$85 million each.

A spokesperson for Defence Minister Bill Blair said Carney has asked Blair to look into whether the F-35 contract is the best investment for Canada, or if there are better options.

“We need to do our homework given the changing environment, and make sure that the contract in its current form is in the best interests of Canadians and the Canadian Armed Forces,” Blair’s press secretary Laurent de Casanove said.

  • HellsBelle@sh.itjust.worksOP
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    11 hours ago

    No. Their manipulation of poorer nations where China ‘lends’ them the money to complete projects that primarily benefit China, leaving the nations forever in China’s debt.

    • alcoholicorn@lemmy.ml
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      9 hours ago

      You’re just describing the IMF’s model and pretending China is doing it. When countries were unable to pay back the loans, China has refinanced or forgiven them.

      Having good relations and a country that isn’t dependent on the west benefits China a lot more than slightly reduced costs to transport goods to a country, that every other country also reaps when a port or railroad is built.

      • HellsBelle@sh.itjust.worksOP
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        8 hours ago

        Here’s me pretending, with data.

        From trains and highways to power plants and ports, Chinese funding has helped to accelerate Africa’s economic growth and bridge infrastructural gaps.

        However, although these loans have accelerated growth, they also present obstacles that may impede long-term development. These obstacles take the form of debt default.

        The volume of borrowing from China has generated concerns over debt sustainability in some African countries.

        • Angola … $64.8 billion
        • South Africa … $21.3 billion
        • Ethiopia … $20.4 billion
        • Sudan … $18 billion
        • Egypt … $15 billion
        • Nigeria … $14.5 billion
        • Zambia … $13.5 billion
        • Democratic Republic of Congo … $13.1 billion
        • Kenya … $12.7 billion
        • Ghana … $9.8 billion Source