Cancel Canada's fighter jet purchase

Tell Vancouver East MP Jenny Kwan: No fighter jets! We need housing, clean water, long-term care, and renewable energy!

WHEREAS: The Canadian federal government plans to purchase 88 new combat jets for the military. The current estimated sticker price of these warplanes (F-35 fighters or equivalent) is $19 billion. Independent researchers say the total cost over a 20-year lifespan will reach at least $77 billion, including $19 billion for repairs, overhauls, and upgrades, $36 billion for operations (salaries, fossil fuel and regular maintenance), $2 billion for replacement aircraft, and other expenses. (See https://nofighterjets.ca/)

AND WHEREAS: This amount is far greater than the cost to provide housing for all (estimated $55 billion over the next decade), clean water to Indigenous communities ($4.7 billion), or addressing the crisis in long-term care homes ($3.14 billion, according to the Canadian Association for Long-Term Care).

WE THE UNDERSIGNED demand that Parliament scrap the fighter jet purchase, and direct warplane funding towards human needs: housing as a basic human right, clean water for all Indigenous communities, long-term care for seniors, and investments in renewable energy.