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e-4217 (National defence and military operations)
- Keywords
- Climate change and global warming
- Department of National Defence
- Fighter aircraft
- Government accountability
E-petition
Initiated by Sarah Rohleder from Vancouver, British Columbia
Original language of petition: English
Petition to the House of Commons
Whereas:
- The federal government plans to purchase 88 new Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters for $19 billion with a lifecycle cost of $77 billion;
- The F-35s are a financial risk with unsustainable operation costs and had over 800 open technical and performance deficiencies according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office;
- The F-35 is a warplane designed for first strike attacks and not defence;
- The F-35 is also a dual capable plane that can carry the B61-12 nuclear bomb, which would cause Canada to violate its commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty;
- The procurement of these fighter jets is antithetical to feminist foreign policy and diverts public funds away from necessary social programs like healthcare, education and housing;
- The F-35s are fossil fuel-powered, will emit greenhouse gases and will exacerbate the climate crisis; and
- These fighter jets will also have adverse cumulative impacts on Indigenous communities from extreme noise, excessive carbon emissions and damage to their traditional lands from weapons testing and air force bases.
We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons to:
1. Conduct and publicize a comprehensive study on the financial, climate, environmental and social costs and risks of the F-35 fighter jets
2. Make public the findings for the gender-based analysis, environmental assessment, climate impacts, and impacts on Indigenous communities of the new fleet of F-35s and
3. Cancel the planned purchase of F-35 fighter jets and invest in climate action and the well-being of Canadians.
March 20, 2023 (Petition No. 441-01187)
