Would you pay for a new copy of Microsoft Word for your computer if the company did not provide you with the product key? Of course not! Without that software code you would not have access to the on-line program updates and would soon be out of date. We all know that! Well…most of us know that.

According to the Nov 25th article in Ottawa Citizen, "The Canadian military is currently looking at whether to buy the Joint Strike Fighter, a deal that could cost between $3.8 billion and $10 billion." But the real puzzle for many of us is that, 'Pentagon officials say no country involved in the development of the jets will have access to the software codes that are key to the high-tech plane's electronic systems.' Without that information, Canada won't able to maintain or upgrade the aircraft in the future without U.S. help."

The report goes on to say that Canada's Defence Department is not concerned—and yet Britain has threatened to cancel its order for 138 planes for this very reason.

If a Canadian Joint Strike Fighter jet is called to action, do we want to be waiting in a US Maintenance line-up saying "Please sir, do my jet next?"

Jim Hnatiuk, leader of CHP Canada and retired military combat system technician, is concerned about the current government's abandonment of requiring that complete In-Service Support be included with the purchase of military aircraft from foreign suppliers. Ken Rowe, CEO of Atlantic Canada IMP Group International Inc., whose operations include maintaining military aircraft, pointed out the perils of this government practice in a 2007 letter, citing, as a prime example, the flawed Cormorant Search and Rescue helicopter purchase.

"We should be partnering with Britain in this protest," says Hnatiuk. "These codes are mandatory for equipment interface upgrades and much more. Britain's Defence Department acknowledged that their Chinook Mk3 project was one of its worst procurement experiences because the aircraft could not be shown to meet their airworthiness standards." The reason, according to Hnatiuk is, "No software codes were provided. The result is the helicopters could only be granted limited release to fly, making them completely unsuitable for use on operations. This certainly cost Britain financially, but more importantly, it contributed to an overall shortfall of helicopters in Afghanistan."

Hnatiuk said, "It's time to show our salt, stand up for our service personnel, and publicly side with Britain on this issue. As CEO Ken Rowe stated in his letter, "This new process is not only a threat to thousands of highly skilled Canadian jobs but it also increases the sovereignty and security risks to Canada by reducing our independent capability to maintain our own military assets."

CHP Canada defends Canadian sovereignty which includes the ability to maintain our military equipment.