A
AALARD
Guest
Russian planes fuel Canadian dispute
OTTAWA, Two Russian bombers came within 40 miles of Canadian territory this week, officials say.
Two CF-18 fighter planes scrambled from a base in Cold Lake, Alberta, shadowed the TU-95s until they headed back towards Russian airspace Tuesday, Postmedia News reported. The fighters returned safely to base.
Dimitri Soudas, a spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, announced the incident.
Members of the Canadian opposition, including Michael Ignatieff, its leader, accused Harper of using this incident and a similar one in July to drum up support for an expensive planned purchase of new fighter jets. The U.S. and Canadian military scramble jets 12 to 18 times a year to shadow Russian planes approaching their airspace in the arctic and usually do not make the encounters public.
At a meeting Wednesday, Jack Harris, a member of Parliament representing the New Democratic Party, said the government is trying to "scare" the public into supporting the F-35 purchase.
OTTAWA, Two Russian bombers came within 40 miles of Canadian territory this week, officials say.
Two CF-18 fighter planes scrambled from a base in Cold Lake, Alberta, shadowed the TU-95s until they headed back towards Russian airspace Tuesday, Postmedia News reported. The fighters returned safely to base.
Dimitri Soudas, a spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, announced the incident.
Members of the Canadian opposition, including Michael Ignatieff, its leader, accused Harper of using this incident and a similar one in July to drum up support for an expensive planned purchase of new fighter jets. The U.S. and Canadian military scramble jets 12 to 18 times a year to shadow Russian planes approaching their airspace in the arctic and usually do not make the encounters public.
At a meeting Wednesday, Jack Harris, a member of Parliament representing the New Democratic Party, said the government is trying to "scare" the public into supporting the F-35 purchase.
