Conservative Government Accused Of Using Commons Committee To Whitewash AG’s F-35 Report

November 21, 2012. David Pugliese - Defence Watch

Canadian Press has this article:

OTTAWA – The NDP accused the Conservatives of using a House of Commons committee to whitewash the auditor general’s scathing indictment of the government’s mammoth F-35 jet fighter procurement.

The NDP levelled the charge in a dissenting opinion to the public accounts committee’s report, tabled Wednesday.

“The NDP remains deeply concerned that this study did not allow parliamentarians to shed light and complete the inquiry on this very important matter,” says the three-page dissenting opinion.

“Only seven hours of testimony were dedicated to this study, and no responsible ministers appeared during the inquiry.”

The committee was responding to the April auditor general’s report that blasted the government for a $10-billion cost overrun on the F-35 procurement.

In its 29-page report, the majority Conservative committee offered six recommendations to deal with issues surrounding the cost of the project raised by auditor general Michael Ferguson.

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