The following is taken from a letter dated April 26, 2017, addressed to; The Most Honorable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, as well as to several other Members of Parliament.
I am appalled the U.S. imposed a tariff on Canadian softwood timber, once again, and our response is to appeal the process that may take years for resolution. A process the International Tribunal has acquitted us before, successfully each time.
The Trump Administration must view Canada as weak, attacking us twice in the same week as they back away from their China stance. We need to take a stand. Start with an important government purchase that does not involve Canadian industry. Cancel the Boeing F/A 18 fighter aircraft we have on order, or defer delivery depending on their current status. Advise that we will be changing our military configuration and standardize with European aircraft, at least until these other arbitrary issues are resolved. Perhaps even a couple of Chinese fighters on the tarmac would help in our training.
The U.S. may argue other technology is lower, but even if that were true there is no compelling need to spend more money for it. We have no plans to fight U.S. aircraft anywhere in the world. We only need to intercept bombers on our NORAD border and/or to work with NATO. We do not need to follow the AVRO Arrow experience.
We have recently made a new European trading partnership and we should stand by that. The U.S. wants us to beef up our NATO spending, so let’s support our European allies.
Sincerely,