Vancouver resident Sarah Rohleder started a petition to the House of Commons to do an analysis on the social justice implications about buying F-35 fighter jets. .“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,” said Rohleder in a Thursday petition. .“The F-35s are fossil fuel-powered, will emit greenhouse gases and will exacerbate the climate crisis.” .The Canadian government said in March it had chosen the F-35 as its preferred replacement for the air force’s dated CF-18 fighters and will open negotiations with Lockheed Martin to manufacture them..READ MORE: Liberals enter final negotiations for buying 88 F-35 fighter jets.“It is critical that current and future Royal Canadian Air Force pilots have the most advanced equipment available to ensure they can deliver on the important work that we ask of them,” said Defence Minister Anita Anand. .Anand said the procurement project, the largest in Canada in more than three decades, will ensure the Canadian military can “continue to defend North America, enhance our Arctic sovereignty and meet our NATO and NORAD obligations in the face of current and emerging threats.”.The petition said the Canadian government plans to purchase 88 new Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters for $19 billion with a lifecyle cost of $77 billion. The United States Government Accountability Office said the F-35s are a financial risk with high operation costs and more than 800 technical and performance deficiencies. .Rohleder said the F-35s can carry the B61-12 nuclear bomb, which would cause Canada to violate its commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. She said the fighter jets will have adverse effects on indigenous communities due to “extreme noise, excessive carbon emissions and damage to their traditional lands from weapons testing and air force bases.”.The initiator called on the House of Commons to “conduct and publicize a comprehensive study on the financial, climate, environmental and social costs and risks of the F-35 fighter jets.” She added it should cancel the F-35 purchase and spend money on climate action and people’s well-being. .The petition will close for signatures on March 6. NDP MP Lindsay Mathyssen sponsored the petition. .There have been 36 people who have signed the petition as of Friday. The province with the most signatures was Ontario (14 people). .Subsequent to Ontario was British Columbia (12 people). This was followed by Manitoba (four); Quebec (three); and Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador (one). .The petition will be certified by the clerk of petitions if there are at least 500 signatures.
