[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[Bauer]

So is there any chance the gripen can work for Canada?  I'd love to see a partnership like that, but it seems pretty hard to move on from the F35 at this stage.

[crazy canuck]

I can't remember the details of the last report I read regarding the terms of the contract with the Americans but my vague recollection is we are only obligated to take a few if their jets at this point. That cost may be worth the advantages the Swedish deal presents. Not the least if which is disengaging with an untrustworthy partner.

[Bauer]

In terms of contract, yeah I think we can stop at 16 F35 and not buy the whole 80ish, or even get 40 or something.

There's one analyst I listened to who suggested we get 40 F35 and use them for nato / us interoperability then some gripens for euro interoperability.  Another analyst claimed two separate fleets are infeasible due to the training and infrastructure requirements.

Wonder if we could just sell our 16 F35 to another country at a discount   

[crazy canuck]

I am not sure there is a ready market for the American jets anymore, at least not nations the Americans would permit having their jets.  This may be more of a sunk cost scenario.

Or we could just do what the Americans did and not honour our agreement.

[Bauer]

From a geopolitical standpoint I think a Canada Sweden partnership would be huge.  Small and medium sized countries can do so much more together without taking bad deals from the giants.

[Jacob]

From a geopolitical standpoint I think a Canada Sweden partnership would be huge.  Small and medium sized countries can do so much more together without taking bad deals from the giants.

Not quite a movement of non-aligned countries, but a "hey we still believe in Western Democratic values and we'll do well to work together" type thing.

[Grey Fox]

Sweden amazes me and really emasculates Canada. It's a country with the population of Ontario that does so much more than we do. Tanks, Planes, Submarines, actual technology companies.

[Bauer]

From a geopolitical standpoint I think a Canada Sweden partnership would be huge.  Small and medium sized countries can do so much more together without taking bad deals from the giants.

Not quite a movement of non-aligned countries, but a "hey we still believe in Western Democratic values and we'll do well to work together" type thing.

In an interview Carney described the new order being built as a series of smaller cooperation circles rather than a big free trade circle.  The old big circle led to more prosperity for all, but the reality is it's being / has been replaced.

[crazy canuck]

Yeah, and I think he is being polite in characterizing that way.  The American decided they no longer wanted to their good times to continue and forced it's one time political and economic allies to seek other arrangements.

I am amazed, and happily surprised, to see how quickly the re-alignment is going. 

[crazy canuck]

Sweden amazes me and really emasculates Canada. It's a country with the population of Ontario that does so much more than we do. Tanks, Planes, Submarines, actual technology companies.

True, and I think that now that our relationship with the US has fundamentally changed, we will become more like the Swedes.  Only people like Jacob will produce games that don't require emergency patches on release.