OTTAWA — The Liberals are accusing the Bloc Quebecois of "flip-flopping" on their decision to support the purchase of F-35 fighter jets in the wake of a report by Canada's budget watchdog that pegs the total cost at billions more than initially thought.
"Gilles Duceppe has finally seen the light — I just hope it isn't too late for Quebec's aerospace industry," Liberal industry critic Marc Garneau said.
"Liberal MPs have argued all along that the Conservative numbers simply do not add up, which is why they breached Parliament's privilege and refused to show us detailed cost figures for these stealth fighter jets."
A report Thursday by Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page suggested the untendered deal would cost more than $29 billion U.S. over 30 years.
The government has and continues to maintain that its figure — $16 billion over 20 years — is accurate.
Shortly after Page's report came out, Duceppe said he was shocked and echoed the position of the Liberals that the deal should be cancelled in favour of an open bid process.
The Bloc had supported the deal believing it would be good for Quebec's aerospace industry.
On Friday, the Bloc's Pierre Paquette admitted the party had supported the purchase up until the release of Thursday's PBO report.
The party, however, had been having doubts in recent weeks following reports of cost overruns in the U.S., he said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Stephen Harper was in Waterloo, Ont., Friday plugging the deal.
"Canada's participation in the Joint Strike Fighter program is translating into sustainable, high quality jobs across this country in the defence, aerospace and high-tech fields," he said during a visit to a high-tech firm.
"Our government is committed to ensuring that our brave men and women in uniform have the equipment they need to defend our sovereignty and carry out Canada's important missions abroad."
The company, Virtek Vision International, has apparently been contributing its laser technology to the Joint Strike Fighter program.
Harper said 64 Canadian companies have already been awarded contracts related to the F-35 purchase.
While Lockheed Martin was awarded the sole-source contract to build the jets, Canadian companies can bid on supply contracts for jets being manufactured for all nine countries in the program.
That said, there's no guarantee that industrial and regional benefits will match, dollar-for-dollar, the total value of the contract which is a requirement when a contract is awarded through a competition.
tcohen@postmedia.com
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