I applaud the government for attempting to Build Back Better in the recent Throne Speech (Sept. 23).
I applaud the government spending on social programs, but we must reallocate some money to prevent catastrophic debt.
Yes, interest rates are low, but there needs to be a limit to increasing our debt. We need to eliminate wasteful spending on the military. We need to stop the $19 billion to be spent on 88 F35 fighter jets.
These are offensive stealth bombers for possible nuclear weapons, not a multi-purpose defensive jet. These are outlandishly costly to purchase and to maintain.
They are also extremely wasteful of fuel, contributing to greenhouse gases and making the climate crisis worse. (The Pentagon contributes more greenhouse gases than all of Sweden. They will provide money for Lockheed Martin’s billionaires and American jobs; very few Canadian jobs.
They will be used only to support American violent interventions in other countries like we found ourselves in Libya or Afghanistan. Who are our enemies? These wasteful expenditures will not be useful against terrorists. We are not at risk of being attacked by either China, North Korea or Russia.
Our personal safety is threatened by pandemics for which we weren’t prepared despite knowing of their coming; climate change with wildfires on the West Coast and more frequent and severe hurricanes on the east coast. There is also the ever-present threat of nuclear weapons. These are our enemies and the military is powerless to address them.
We need to halt spending on these useless, offensive, expensive F35 jets.
Richard Denton
Sudbury