Dear friends,

Thank you for your support!

In the last four weeks, you have donated more than $12,000 to help sustain our work of helping to accompany frontline defenders.

We organize webinars and advocacy tours, produce articles and an e-newsletter, engage in popular research, and provide daily contextualized updates on accompaniments with one staffperson and an annual budget of less than $90,000.

If you haven’t yet donated this year, but are considering it, now’s the time to do so! Just click here to make an online donation or mail a cheque to the address below.

A donation of any amount, one-time or monthly, is much needed and deeply appreciated.

Thank you and happy new year!

Brent

Composite photo of F-35s and Parliament Hill.

With the formal announcement expected in the coming weeks that the Trudeau government will purchase a first block of F-35s for $7 billion, how are the opposition parties likely to respond when the House of Commons resumes sitting on January 30?

Conservative Party defence critic James Bezan is likely to support the purchase, but emphasize the time wasted by the Liberal government.

The last Conservative government had selected the F-35 in July 2010, but the resulting political turmoil over the untendered bid delayed the actual purchase.

Their hope to buy the plane was derailed when the Liberals vowed in the October 2015 federal election not to buy the F-35 but “one of the many, lower-priced options that better match Canada’s defence needs”.

In the September 2021 election, the Conservative platform promised to: “Fast-track the selection of a new fighter jet to replace our aging CF-18s through the current open competition and get the new fighter fleet into service as quickly as possible.”

NDP defence critic Lindsay Mathyssen may focus on cost and job creation, but not likely outright opposition to the purchase of new fighter jets.

Following the news that the Liberals intend to begin with the purchase of 16 F-35s for $7 billion, Mathyssen commented: “The reported cost of this purchase, for only 16 jets, is outrageous. Earlier this year, the government intended to purchase 88 fighter jets for $18 billion. Clearly today’s news suggests the government is not interested in getting the best value and is leaving Canadians on the hook to pay for their bad decisions.”

That appears consistent with the NDP platform from the 2021 election that states: “In contracting for new military equipment, including ships and fighter jets, New Democrats will ensure maximum industrial benefits and jobs. This will help ensure the survival of healthy shipbuilding and aerospace industries all across Canada.”

Bloc Québécois defence critic Christine Normandin might also focus on economic benefits for Quebec, but ultimately accept the F-35s as the choice and perhaps focus more on the logistical concerns about where they will be based.

During a meeting of the Standing Committee on National Defence in November 2022, Normandin asked: “If I understood correctly, all the infrastructure is not yet in place for receiving the F-35s if Canada does receive them someday. About how much time will it take for all the necessary infrastructure to be put in place?”

Normandin then further noted at the committee hearing: “Canada should be receiving the F-35s in ten years or so, because the CF-18s will no longer be in working condition. As we know, it is often faster to go via the private sector than via the Canadian Armed Forces’ procurement system. Am I to understand that if we do not go via the private sector, the infrastructure may not be in place on time to receive the F-35s?”

Green Party leader Elizabeth May could be the only political leader to oppose the F-35.

In February 2021, she tweeted a Forbes article about the F-35 and noted: “Greens always said Canada should not waste $$$ on the F-35. US Air Force admits it fails. Put money where it is needed. Our biggest security threat is #ClimateEmergency.”

And in March 2022, after the Liberal government indicated it had entered negotiations with Lockheed Martin to purchase the F-35, May stated: “How do the Liberals credibly claim we are to forget their renunciation of the F-35 fighter jet? Why are we supposed to spending $19 billion on a plane that former Liberal leader Bob Rae … pointed out was completely operationally the wrong plane for Canada?”

While the Liberal government may receive a bumpy ride in the House of Commons over the flip-flop on its pledge that it would “not buy the F-35 stealth fighter-bomber”, it does appear that it will have the parliamentary support it needs to move forward with the purchase from the Conservatives (with 118 seats), the NDP (25 seats) and the Bloc Quebecois (32 seats). The Greens (with 2 seats) could be the only dissenting voice.

This suggests that the peace movement – under the umbrella of the No Fighter Jets coalition – will need to mobilize public opinion to stop more than $76.8 billion from being spent on warplanes.

The Government of Canada Future fighter capability project website says: “Contract award: 2022; First delivery: as early as 2025; Initial Operational Capability: 2026-2028; Full Operational Capability: 2031-2033.”

While the Canadian Press reports that sources say “Canada will be purchasing F-35s in blocks over the next few years” rather than in one bulk purchase of 88 planes, this is the general timeline to build opposition and defund warplanes.

A key upcoming moment could be when the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer announces that it will be preparing an independent cost estimate sometime after the federal government makes the formal announcement about the purchase.

And as inflation makes life more difficult for Canadians, people may just not accept a fighter jet that costs USD $44,000 an hour to fly.

Photo by Nick Procaylo.

The Canadian Press reports: “Border officials say a detainee at an immigration holding centre in Surrey, B.C., has died after being found unresponsive on Christmas Day. [A Canada Border Services Agency] statement says Surrey RCMP and the B.C. Coroners Service are now investigating the circumstances surrounding the detainee’s death.”

Postmedia News further reports: “Human rights advocates are criticizing Canada’s border agency for its secrecy regarding the Christmas Day death saying the lack of information prevents accountability or meaningful change.”

The Canada Border Services Agency “did not release the person’s name, age, country of origin, or any detailed circumstances surrounding the death.”

That article adds: “The CBSA refused to provide details to Postmedia News about the age of the person, whether they had any health concerns, whether the person was alone in their room or with other detainees, whether the person had any interactions with other detainees or staff before their death and whether the room is monitored by video surveillance.”

Samer Muscati from Human Rights Watch says: “We don’t know what their names are, we don’t know if they had a family, where they came from. We don’t know how long they were detained, why they were detained, if they had any adverse health conditions. There’s nothing that we know about this person. It’s just a nameless, faceless person that has passed away.”

Muscati adds: “It’s really another disgraceful way that people in immigration detention are dehumanized, even after they die.”

Postmedia also notes: “It is the second death in immigration detention this year. In January, a person held in a holding centre in Quebec died after they were found in medical distress. Nearly a year later, that person’s identity and cause of death has not been released by CBSA.”

This statement from Migrante BC, Sanctuary Health and others also notes: “This death on Christmas Day exposes the numbers of immigrants, including children, who are detained in Canada. Between April 2019 and March 2020, there were 8,825 people detained between the ages of 15 and 83. In the same period, another 136 children were ‘housed’ in detention with their detained parents, including 73 under age 6.”

The statement further notes: “Since 2000, at least 17 people have died in immigration detention, with at least six deaths since 2016.”

“In 2014, on Coast Salish Territories, the community had to fight for an inquest to get all the details of the death of Lucia Vega Jimenez, a Mexican national without status in Canada: from the transit police officer who called CBSA because she had an accent, to the CBSA officer who introduced himself as a ‘liaison’ and used her answers against her in her detention review hearing, to the private security guard playing video games while she died.”

The Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project has accompanied the Casa del Migrante de Saltillo, which helps undocumented migrants from Central America, in particular from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, travel through Mexico en route to the border with the United States.

As noted on the PBI-Mexico website: “In addition to their recognized work providing humanitarian support to migrants, they also carry out the courageous task of denouncing and documenting violations of migrants’ human rights.”

“The humanitarian support that the Casa provides to migrants includes medical and psychological care for those who need it, as well as legal assistance helping individuals with the migratory process and in deportation cases.”

There are three federally-run “immigration holding centres” in Canada located in Surrey, Toronto and Laval. The Canada Border Services Agency also keeps immigration detainees in provincial “correctional centres”.

As the New Year approaches, we wanted to share with you our plans for the first 100 days of 2023.

With your support, we intend to:

January 6-8: support a country-wide day of action raising concerns about the $77 billion that could be spent on Canada’s new fleet of F-35 warplanes

January 16: begin reaching out to respected Indigenous land defenders and social leaders to hear their thoughts on whether PBI should have an accompaniment role on Turtle Island as we do in Latin America

February 9: build awareness of the PBI accompanied social leaders in Guatemala who will be in court on this day for defending community rights and water against sugar exports

February 15: hold our first webinar of the year focused on how specialized police units (like the ESMAD in Colombia and the C-IRG in Canada) repress social movements asserting their human rights

March 5-8: bring PBI accompanied defenders from Latin America to voice their concerns about Canadian mining at the time of the PDAC mining convention in Toronto

And by the 100^th day of the year (April 10) we will already be planning to bring PBI accompanied social leaders from Colombia to Toronto to build awareness of the impacts of Frontera Energy on the community of San Luis de Palenque at the time of the company’s annual meeting (expected to take place in mid-May).

We need your support to do this work.

A year-end donation would help us make this all happen.

If you can, please donate before December 31st by clicking here.

And if you have already made a donation this year, thank you!!

Brent at PBI-Canada

Photo by Gidimt’en Checkpoint. Poll graphic by EKOS Research Associates.

On December 26, the Canadian Press reported: “A poll commissioned by the force earlier this year showed only 51 per cent of Canadians believe the Mounties are honest, a drop of five percentage points from the year before. Only a third of Canadians feel the RCMP treat visible minorities and Indigenous people fairly.”

The poll, released in April 2022, was conducted by EKOS Research Associates for the RCMP.

It also found that 49 per cent of respondents disagree with the statement: “The RCMP treats Indigenous peoples fairly.”

Chart 36 of the poll also finds that 42 per cent of respondents disagree with the statement: “The RCMP is … advancing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples of Canada.”

Chart 51 further shows that number of people who agree with this statement has dropped from 43 per cent in 2019/20 to 33 per cent in 2021/22.

The full poll can be seen at 2021-22 Canadians’ Views of RCMP Policing Services Final Report.

There are no specific questions in the poll about the Community-Industry Response (C-IRG).

In Montreal earlier this month, Wet’suwet’en land defender Sleydo’ described the RCMP and C-IRG as “the private mercenaries for industry and governments”

C-IRG officers are present on Wet’suwet’en territory in northern British Columbia enabling the construction of the Coastal GasLink fracked gas pipeline without the free, prior and informed consent of the Hereditary Chiefs.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has repeatedly called on Canada to halt construction of this pipeline and “the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and associated security and policing services will be withdrawn from their traditional lands.”

The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is financing this pipeline (and violation of Indigenous rights and rights of land defenders).

Stand.earth has documented: “RBC provided CAD $275 million in project finance –  including a co-financed $6.5 billion loan and a $40 million corporate loan, and $200 million in co-financed working capital – while acting as financial advisor for the pipeline. RBC also holds over 85 million shares in TC Energy, which translates to about 8.6% of the company or more than a $1.03 billion-dollar stake (at $58/share).”

According to this Coastal GasLink monthly report (issued on December 21, 2022) on construction in “Section 7” south of Houston: “32.4% of pipe installed, includes activities from stringing through to backfilling”. This is the area that involves CGL drilling under Wedzin Kwa (or as the company refers to it, the Morice River).

The C-IRG is becoming known for its brutality towards land defenders, as noted in this Briarpatch magazine article: The C-IRG: the resource extraction industry’s best ally (by Molly Murphy and Research for the Front Lines).

On November 24, 2022, the BC Federation of Labour convention unanimously passed this resolution calling for the C-IRG to be disbanded.

Peace Brigades International-Canada supports the call for the C-IRG to be disbanded and will be working on this issue in 2023.

Further reading: PBI-Canada supports the call for the RCMP’s Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG) to be abolished (December 16, 2022).

Photos: A CF-18 in a hangar at the Cold Lake air force base in Alberta; Toronto police clear a homeless encampment in Toronto.

In recent days, the news has reported that the Treasury Board has approved a $7 billion allocation to the Department of National Defence for the purchase of a first block of 16 F-35 warplanes along with associated costs.

The formal announcement of this purchase and signing of a year-end contract with weapon manufacturer Lockheed Martin is expected in January.

While this purchase works out to about $450 million per F-35, the Canadian Press has highlighted that other costs are included in this $7 billion expenditure, including “much-needed upgrades to the Air Force’s physical infrastructure”.

Just how much is the Canadian government spending to provide housing for warplanes?

According to Defence Construction Canada: “The total value of the contract [to build the hangars] is approximately $525 million—$272 million for a 34,500 square metre facility in Cold Lake and $253 million for a 22,000 square metre facility in Bagotville.”

This would be in addition to the $21.3 million spent on the design of the hangars – $9.2 million for 4 Wing Cold Lake and $12.1 million for 3 Wing Bagotville.

In the State of Homelessness in Canada 2016 report, it was estimated that at least 235,000 people experience homelessness in a given year.

The actual number is potentially much higher.

In addition to the visibly homeless, it has been estimated that there are between 450,000 to 900,000 people who experience hidden homelessness, meaning individuals who are living temporarily with others but without guarantee of continued residence or immediate prospects for permanent housing.

Veterans are among those who experience homelessness. In Budget 2021, the Canadian government allocated $45 million, a fraction of the money being spent on the hangars, for a two-year pilot project to reduce veteran homelessness.

Overall, the cost of purchasing and maintaining the new fleet of 88 F-35 warplanes is likely to exceed $76.8 billion over a 30 year period, according to the Uncovering the True Cost of 88 New Fighter Jets report produced by the No Fighter Jets coalition in September 2020.

This report included the $21.3 million for the design of the new hangars, but not the $525 million for the construction of them.

It had also calculated $689 million for development costs, but two years after the report was issued that figure is now closer to USD $712 million (about CAD $971 million).

It’s also unclear how much money will be specifically spent on the bombs and missiles for the F-35. The report presumes that is included in the $19 billion acquisition cost.

But to give some sense of how much could be spent on this, we know that the Canadian government spent $1.1 billion in June 2020 for 50 Sidewinder AIM-9X Block II Tactical missiles, radars and other various equipment.

With 88 F-35s to be ordered, more than 50 missiles will be purchased. A separate accounting of this expenditure is important for public accountability.

Along with the unanswered questions about the monetary cost of the F-35 is the human cost of Canada’s current fleet of CF-18s.

How many people has it killed and displaced?

The Globe and Mail has reported on allegations that a CF-18 airstrike killed 5-13 civilians and injured more than a dozen people in northern Iraq on November 19, 2015. Both The Globe and Mail and the CBC have also reported on the allegation of the killing of 27 civilians from a CF-18 bombing mission in northern Iraq in January 2015.

Of the 606 bombs dropped by CF-18s in Iraq and Syria, 17 went off course, but the Department of National Defence has said it has “no information” that any of its airstrikes, on-target or otherwise, killed or wounded civilians.

Six CF-18 fighter jets also conducted 733 bombing missions on Libya in 2011. There are now more than 200,000 people internally displaced in Libya.

Given Canada’s fleet of CF-18s conducted an estimated 1,598 bombing missions over the past 30 years, it is likely fair to say that their bombs not only killed more people but displaced and made many others homeless.

The public disclosure of the monetary and human costs of warplanes should be an important part of the discussion on the F-35 purchase.

Ottawa Citizen journalist David Pugliese writes: “The leak by federal government officials that National Defence has received approval to buy 16 stealth fighter jets is raising questions about what this purchase will ultimately cost taxpayers.”

Pugliese compares this price tag with the CAD $8.5 billion Switzerland recently paid for its 36 F-35s, as well as the CAD $12 billion Germany paid for 35 F-35s and the CAD $15 billion Finland paid for 64 F-35s.

He adds: “The offices of Defence Minister Anita Anand and Procurement Minister Helena Jaczek have not answered questions about the discrepancies.”

His article further quotes Alan Williams, the former procurement chief at National Defence, who says: “It is distressing to read information being made public regarding billion-dollar procurements that is so opaque and piecemeal rather than being transparent and comprehensive. Even if the jets are being purchased in batches, why not announce the total expected cost to acquire, maintain and operate the 88 jets? (It) makes it appear the government is hiding the truth from Canadians.”

In contrast, Lee Berthiaume at the Canadian Press is reporting: “Experts are warning against drawing conclusions on whether Canada is getting a good deal for the F-35, given the large startup costs associated with buying and fielding a new fighter jet, which include much-needed upgrades to the Air Force’s physical and digital infrastructure.”

The article notes that the announced purchase price of $7 billion for 16 F-35s “works out to about $450 million per plane, which is about four times more than the publicly reported cost of the aircraft [though that] total includes weapons and spare parts, new facilities to house and maintain the fighter jets and upgrades to the military’s computer networks.”

$525 million for housing fighter jets

In August 2020, a Department of National Defence media release stated that the Minister had “announced a $9.2-million contract award to EllisDon Construction Services Inc., of Edmonton, Alta., for the design of a new fighter jet facility at 4 Wing Cold Lake, one of two main operating bases for Canada’s future fighter aircraft.”

Then in October 2020, the Department also announced “a $12.1-million contract award to EllisDon-EBC Inc. Joint Venture of Ottawa for the design of a new fighter jet facility at 3 Wing Bagotville”, the other operating base for the fighter jets.

Defence Construction Canada has noted: “The total value of the contract [to build the hangars] is approximately $525 million—$272 million for a 34,500 square metre facility in Cold Lake and $253 million for a 22,000 square metre facility in Bagotville.”

Construction at Cold Lake appeared to be underway in July 2022.

Total costs

The point, despite the argumentation in the Canadian Press, is that the total cost of this purchase has not been disclosed by the Canadian government.

While the government has said the cost to purchase 88 fighter jets would be between $15 billion to $19 billion, the No Fighter Jet coalition has argued that is akin to purchasing a car without also calculating the cost of gas, maintenance, insurance, repairs, parking, etc. It’s not an accurate representation of the actual costs and budget commitment.

The coalition produced this report two years ago that says the actual cost of the fighter jet acquisition is closer to $76.8 billion over a 30 year period.

As of May 2022, Canada had already paid an estimated CAD $916.91 million into the development of the warplane. (At the time of the No Fighter Jet coalition report, the figure was $689 million).

Why no PBO study yet?

In October 2020, the Office of Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) indicated: “We are planning to cost the new fighter jet, but were waiting until the Government choses a model. It is challenging to independently cost multiple different weapon platforms when the precise operating specifications haven’t been nailed down.”

It is our understanding that this evaluation could begin in January when the Canadian government is expected to make its formal announcement about the purchase of the warplanes. It has also been our understanding that a PBO report generally takes between 3 to 6 months to produce.

We remain concerned about the total cost and many other unanswered questions related to Canada’s acquisition of these warplanes.