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Natynczyk argued that the Challenger jets aren't being flown enough. The government has six and their use has often been controversial. The most recent two were acquired for $101 million by the Chretien government in 2002 in a purchase that was later described by then auditor-general Sheila Fraser as unjustified and unnecessary.
Politicians have been using executive jets a lot less often since the Conservatives came to power. Harper says he flies the Challengers at the insistence of the RCMP for security reasons, but he has decreed that his ministers must take commercial flights when they can.
So Natynczyk says the Challengers are often being flown empty on training flights that are needed for to maintain the certification of the aircraft and pilots.
That being the case, he argues he is only making use of flights that would have taken place anyway, but without a meaningful destination. After all, the added costs of actually using the jets, after deducting the fixed costs of ownership, is reported to be only about $2,600 an hour, a pittance compared to the $2.4 million an hour we spend on the armed forces that Natynczyk leads.
Yet here's my question. Why are we looking for make-work projects for such expensive aircraft? Three are equipped for medical flights. Why don't we sell them if there isn't enough cost-effective work?
Failing that, maybe we could have a lottery for ordinary soldiers so at least a few of them could fly home for holidays. They have families too.
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http://www.vancouversun.com/news/canada ... z1YbeSo9rV
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