Liberals want proof F-35 won’t be ‘flying credit card’

The Canadian Press:

Ottawa — Federal Liberals plan to open a second front in their document war with the Harper government.

The party’s defence critic, Dominic Leblanc, is demanding the release of a key air force report that lays out the justification for the purchase of F-35 stealth fighter jets.

The statement of operational requirements was stamped classified by National Defence last year and the Conservative government has resisted calls by the opposition parties to make the document public.

LeBlanc served notice to the House of Commons defence committee that he’ll table a motion demanding the release of the statement — a measure he hopes the NDP and Bloc Québécois will support.

That sets the stage for another tug-of-war over document secrecy.

Last year, Liberal MP Scott Brison brought forward a motion at the Commons finance committee demanding the Conservative government reveal projections on what its tough-on-crime legislation and corporate tax cuts will cost.

He won enough support to bring the matter before the Speaker of the Commons, who will hear arguments next week on whether the government should be held in contempt.

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