The contract to purchase the F-35 is discussed on the CBC site

Opus72 writes: While the F35 is a superior plane, I do question its choice. There are some planes out there that while not as stealthy, do just as good if not better in other areas...price per plane is more than half that of the F35...

Rafale
Eurofighter
Gripen
Fulcrum F
Super Hornet
etc...

All great planes that are almost as good as the 35...

Question is, why were other planes not even looked at or is this just politics?

Cutting edge is great if you can afford it...we can't...
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I say...

When Iran goes nuclear in a few years hence, and then decides to make good on its genocidal threat and drops a couple on Tel Aviv, Do we want our boys flying planes that are easily shot out of the sky? In a dog fight with one of these other alternative fighters, do you want them to be merely equal to the competition--or superior?

The same bleeding hearts that say they are concerned about the death of our men and women in Afghanistan are the same sort that sent them there in jeeps and poor equipment. They are the same sort that are complaining because Canada has had enough of the second-rate treatment of our forces, and is actually doing something about it

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/07/15/liberals-fighter-jets.html#socialcomments#ixzz0tmIM02D4
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Liz Wilson Wrote: "Help me to understand the thumbs down.....

are you opposed to an open bidding process for a contract of this manitude?
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Some things I know and some things I don't know...
The discussion today Liz, was more informative than the article that spawned it.

A somewhat valid analogy to answer your question would be, Canadians in our everyday life are used to shopping for everything from vegetables to cars we drive. So we are used to shop comparatively for good reason. However, imagine when you are shopping for a car, you know you want to buy a Tesla. You want to buy that car, because the most important thing to you is being green and being fast. Tesla's aren't sold at a local dealer, you have to order it directly from the factory. And the price is what the factory says it is.

When 2 pilots are in a dogfight. Lets say they are exactly equally skilled.
One fighter is just a little bit better than the other... who wins? Lets say the other fighter is carrying a nuke, do you want our boys to win?

There are some things we can compromise on. The developement of this plane is actually something Canada has participated in since Cretien. There is no better aircraft, though some might take issue with me. The closest competitor in the free world is 4 billion more than this one.

Finally, this plane generates work for over 100 Canadian companies, with a direct benefit to the Canadian economy of over 1 billion dollars. If you extend the economic window to 2040, the expected life of the plane, Canada's economy could earn much more than the price of the plane, since we profit from world-wide distribution.