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The head of the Royal Canadian Air Force has refuted suggestions, including from more than a dozen of his predecessors, that the Trudeau government is needlessly dragging its feet on new fighter jets.

Lt.-Gen. Mike Hood instead said the Liberals are taking "a prudent amount of time," as choosing Canada's next fighter is a big decision especially since it will likely be in use for decades.

"Fighter operations, there is a lot to chew on," Hood said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

"The timelines the government and the minister have articulated will let them be absolutely sure that they're making the right choice for a final fighter that will probably be flying when I'm going to the grave."

The Liberals' new defence policy includes a promise to replace Canada's 76 aging CF-18s with 88 new warplanes, which is an increase from the 65 previously promised by the Harper Conservatives.

The policy estimates the new fighters will cost between $15 billion and $19 billion, up from the $9 billion previously budgeted by the Tories.

The Liberals say the extra fighter jets are required to meet a new policy, adopted in September, that increased the number of warplanes that must always be ready for operations.

But fighter-jet companies such as Lockheed Martin and Boeing, which make the F-35 and Super Hornet, respectively, won't be asked to submit formal bids until next year at the earliest.

That is despite many defence experts, including 13 retired Air Force commanders in February, saying a competition to replace the CF-18 fleet can and should be launched immediately.

They say doing so would negate the need for 18 "interim" Super Hornets, which would save taxpayer dollars and keep from diverting personnel and resources away from other areas of the Air Force.

But Hood played down those concerns, saying that he'll have no trouble operating an interim fighter fleet if "I'm given the resources and the priority that I need."

That doesn't mean there won't be challenges in growing the size of Canada's fighter fleet, he admitted, notably in terms of having enough pilots and technicians to fly and fix the new jets.

The problem has been exacerbated by the fact that while airlines are currently on a hiring binge, Hood said, the Air Force can't ramp up the number of pilots it puts through flight school each year.

"We brought in a pilot-training system in the early 2000s that had a maximum capacity to deliver about 115 pilots a year. With attrition going up, I'd probably want to produce 140 this year, but I can't."

However, Hood is hoping planned changes to the training regime and new initiatives such as recruiting potential technicians directly out of community college will help grow his ranks.

At the same time, the military is looking at ways to improve working conditions across the board to keep experienced personnel in uniform and not lose them.

The plan to grow the number of fighter jets is only one area in which the Air Force is slated to grow in the coming years, with new armed drones, search-and-rescue aircraft and other equipment having also been promised.

Hood said that represents a significant and welcome turn of events after the service was dramatically weakened by years of cuts.

"When General (Rick) Hillier talked about the 'Decade of Darkness,"' Hood said, "the lion's share of that was done on the back of the Air Force in the '90s."

More:
Liberals taking 'prudent amount of time' with jet competition: RCAF commander - CBC.ca

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Danny Westneat is a columnist for the Seattle Times.

Bad news for liberals.

That was how one national news outlet summed up the finding last week that Seattles bold experiment in a $15 minimum wage isnt working out quite as planned. University of Washington researchers found that forcing wages higher and faster could be hurting the very people it was most supposed to help: the lowest-wage, least-skilled workers.

But the bad news doesnt have to be either final or fatal. Not if liberals can get out of their defensive crouches and actually be liberal that is, open to new information that may not square with the program.

We have a culture in Seattle that if youre not on board with the cause 100 percent, then youre vilified. Thats got to loosen up, or were really heading for trouble.

Thats Dave Meinert, owner of six bars and restaurants in town. He was one of only three on a 24-member advisory task force who dissented as the $15 wage plan was adopted in a progressive cheering parade three years ago.

Basically what he said then was the city was pushing the base wage too high, too fast, without enough flexibility for different types of businesses. Unlike some of the more strident naysayers, who predicted (wrongly) that businesses would fail, Meinert suggested it was the workers themselves who would get hurt.

Which is what appears to be happening to the lowest-wage workers, the UW study found.

As with anything involving the dismal science, the report is complex and caveat-filled. But the main finding is very inconvenient that near the bottom of the pay scale, wages went up but hours were cut more, resulting in an overall loss of $125 in pay per job per month.

Meinert said he wasnt surprised, because he has started slightly shaving hours at his bars. Example: One of his places that used to open at 11 a.m. now opens at noon, leading to a reduction of one hour per day, times three workers, equaling 21 fewer paid hours per week.

Nobody has lost jobs, but some of the newer hires have seen reduced hours, Meinert said.

The study found that while this was going on, Seattle restaurants also hired more highly paid employees. The LA Times said it suggests restaurants here are splitting into two models: limited service, like where you bus your own tables, or lavish, full-service joints, where a salad can cost, say, $25.

A $25 salad? In 2014 I quoted one pub owner predicting Seattle would become the city of the $18 hamburger. He wasnt far off.

The red flag is that restaurants have been shielded from the biggest wage boosts so far. They have a $2-an-hour tip adjustment (meaning they can pay $2 less than the base wage, which this year is $13 for small businesses.) But in time that tip adjustment will be phased out.

If I were a Seattle lawmaker, I would be thinking hard about the $15-an-hour phase-in, David Autor, an MIT economist, told The Washington Post.

Are they? I see more rationalizing and propagandizing. That Mayor Ed Murray went out and recruited a labor-friendly Berkeley researcher to bash the UW economics study before it was even released doesnt exactly suggest an open mind.

Maybe this study is wrong, and more research obviously is needed. But whats puzzling about City Hall attacking it is that even this bad-news finding suggests only tweaking might be in order.

Theyre putting their heads in the sand, when they could just be adjusting the experiment to make sure it works better, Meinert said.

Ideological rigidity like this is exactly whats plaguing national politics. Example: There was an insane story in Politico that U.S. Senate Republican leaders were going around with an urgent warning for colleagues: If Obamacare repeal fails the GOP might be forced to compromise with Democrats.

Compromise? Oh the humanity!

Seattle liberals, dont be like them. Instead, be real liberals.

Danny Westneat is a columnist for the Seattle Times.

Go here to see the original:
Westneat: Liberals need open minds in minimum-wage debate - The Columbian

While most people using Twitter yesterday posted photos of fireworks or wished fellow citizens a happy Fourth of July, Donald Trump Jr. used Independence Day as a way to insult liberals.

Trump Jr., who like his father uses Twitter to pontificate and has a history of being caught saying false things on the social media platform, couldnt seem to comprehend that people with different political opinions than his would have reason to enjoy Americas Independence Day.

Out of curiosity, what exactly are Big Govt, oppressive [sic] taxation, anti 2A left wing socialists celebrating today? Trump Jr. tweeted.

As you might expect, people didnt seem to enjoy his assumption that only supporters of his father, President Donald Trump, could possibly be patriotic. When you ask Twitter such a provoking question, you should expect a swift responsewhich is exactly what happened.

Former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara also got in on the fun.

Some people were celebrating their ability to spell oppressive, unlike Trump Jr., and did not miss the irony of him having spelling issues on Twitter, like his father.

While other people werent in the mood to get drawn in.

See the original post:
Donald Trump Jr. thinks liberals shouldn't be allowed to celebrate the 4th of July - The Daily Dot

After months of weighty policy shifts by Premier Kathleen Wynne, Ontarians appear to be warming up to their unloved Liberal government, according to a new poll from the Innovative Research Group.

The long-governing Liberals have trailed the opposition Progressive Conservatives in a number of polls since last summer but with less than a year before the next provincial election, the gap between has closed and they are almost tied in public support, according to pollster Greg Lyle; 30 per cent of Ontarians say they would vote PC compared with 27 per cent who would vote Liberal.

The poll follows a number of feel-good announcements in April and May in which Ms. Wynne announced a tax on foreign buyers to cool an overheated housing market, the move to a $15 minimum wage, a balanced budget with a new pharmacare plan, a basic-income pilot project and a 25-per-cent cut to hydro bills.

Globe editorial: Why Kathleen Wynne has become a great NDP premier

Former Liberal heavyweights have suggested in recent months that the party could be staring at defeat next summer if Ms. Wynne stays on as leader. However, while Ms. Wynne remains unpopular with the majority of Ontarians, Mr. Lyle says his polling shows paths for the Liberals to win again. By next summer, the Grits will have been in power for 15 years.

What were seeing is that the pool of people open to the Liberals is starting to move, Mr. Lyle told The Globe and Mail. That doesnt mean that theyve got them, but theyve got a lead in party identification and the number of people open to considering them is growing.

Despite lagging in the polls, the Liberal brand remains the most popular in Ontario, with 34 per cent of those polled identifying as Liberals. The governing partys base has also grown over the past few months, with 25 per cent of Ontarians disagreeing that its time to change government nearly equal to the 27 per cent who say they are hostile with the government.

The Liberals are also in the lead across much of the Greater Toronto Area, after months of wobbly support in the partys seat-rich heartland. The Tories lead everywhere else in Ontario, with commanding leads in southwestern and south-central Ontario.

Since November, the Liberals base support has grown, while the number of Ontarians mad at the government has shrunk. Thats good news for Ms. Wynne, according to Mr. Lyle the pollster for former Tory premier Mike Harris.

Anger directed at Ms. Wynne has also dropped. While she ranks third when asked who would make the best premier, after PC Leader Patrick Brown and the NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, the number of people angry at the Premier has dropped five points to 41 per cent. Admittedly, thats still quite unpopular, according to Mr. Lyle.

While the numbers are improving somewhat for Ms. Wynne, Mr. Lyle said he was surprised by the incremental increase. Whats striking to me is that the policies were so dramatic and the gains have been relatively so small, he said.

What may account for the discrepancy, Mr. Lyle said, is the governments inability to form a narrative that has gained currency among Ontarians. While the governments announcements on housing and minimum wage have been well regarded, it hasnt led to a more cohesive story. In an interview with The Globe in June, Ms. Wynne summed up that narrative in one word: Fairness.

And while Mr. Browns party might be ahead in the polls, more than half of Ontarians say they dont know enough about him to form an opinion. Thats a problem also facing Ms. Horwath, as an increasing number of Ontarians have said they dont know much about her, either.

Follow Justin Giovannetti on Twitter: @justincgio

Read the rest here:
Ontario survey shows rise in support for Liberals a year out from election - The Globe and Mail

Nationals senator John Williams also says Tony Abbott needs to just fit into the team and be a team player. Photograph: Mike Bowers for the Guardian

National party senator John Williams has warned the Liberal party that a plebiscite on marriage equality is part of the Coalition agreement, signed by Malcolm Turnbull and Barnaby Joyce.

The agreement was signed when Turnbull took the leadership from Tony Abbott in September 2015 and Williams said it was part of the deal for National party support.

I know that it is in the Coalition agreement, a signed agreement between Nats and Liberals by Barnaby Joyce and Malcolm Turnbull, Williams said.

The Coalition agreement is signed by every incoming Liberal and National party leader. In the last agreement, Turnbull agreed for the water portfolio to go back to the agriculture portfolio with Joyce as minister, which happened immediately. The agreement also states there will be no policy move to a carbon price and no change to the definition of marriage without a plebiscite.

Williams chastised the defence industry minister and leader of the government, Christopher Pyne, for telling his moderate Liberal colleagues that marriage equality might be resolved sooner than you think, a boast soon scotched by Turnbull.

Williams said if the Nick Xenophon team or Labor had supported the plebiscite, the issue of same-sex marriage could have been resolved by now.

But instead these issues keep bubbling along and get so much media attention and Chris Pyne shouldnt say those things, Williams said.

He was worried the ongoing Liberal division would risk marginal seat holders such as fellow National MP Michelle Landry in Capricornia in Queensland. Landry holds the seat by a margin of just 0.8% and Williams said her seat creates the one-seat majority that keeps the Coalition in power.

Im annoyed with the Liberals because everyone knows division is death and they are so divided every time Tony Abbott makes a statement publicly, he said.

We need to concentrate on their job, which is to work for betterment of all Australia.

Williams reminded Abbott that Coalition MPs had been team players when he was prime minister but he would not give advice about whether Abbott should leave parliament after the Guardian Essential poll found 43% thought Abbott should resign.

I think what Tony needs to do is just simply be more of a team player, as we were with Tony when he was prime minister, Williams told ABC earlier.

I certainly was. We had a couple of disagreements on the odd occasion but I think Tony needs to just fit into the team and be a team player. What he does in the future is his decision.

He said the continual division made it impossible for the government to talk about its positive messages such as budget commitments on inland rail, roads and education.

These things cant get any light of day because of this division, Williams said.

Originally posted here:
Nationals senator reminds Liberals same-sex marriage plebiscite part of their deal - The Guardian