Ottawa looking at retiring some older military equipment — including the Snowbird jets

The Department of National Defence is actively considering whether to retire some older ships, planes and other items of equipment that have become difficult and costly to maintain — including the aircraft belonging to the iconic Snowbird demonstration squadron.

In an interview with CBC News, Defence Minister Bill Blair insisted no decisions have been made and he's waiting on advice from military leaders.

Blair said the 1960s-vintage CT-114 Tutor jets used by the Snowbirds have been in service too long. He said he's asked the commander of the air force whether the planes — which were given a life extension to 2025 and are now going through an additional upgrade — have finally "aged out."

"The reality is the Tutor plane is well past its utility," Blair said. "There are even some safety issues that are deeply concerning to me and I've received assurances that through this flight season ... they can manage those safely, but it continues to persist as a concern."

Blair did not elaborate on those safety issues. The aircraft have crashed a number of times. Capt. Jennifer Casey, an air force public affairs officer, died on May 17, 2020 when the Snowbird she was in crashed after takeoff near Kamloops, B.C.

The air force recently installed new avionics the defence department says can keep the demonstration jets flying until perhaps 2030 — almost 70 years after they were purchased.

Defence sources say the navy's 1990s vintage minesweepers, known as maritime coastal defence vessels (MCDVs), could also be on the chopping block.

"There's a number of our ships that have ... they're becoming increasingly expensive, almost prohibitively expensive to maintain and ... even to staff," Blair said, adding he's awaiting a recommendation from the commander of the navy.

The country's soon-to-retire top military commander, Gen. Wayne Eyre, said the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) is examining a list of older capabilities that should be replaced, the time it might take to replace them and whether it makes sense to take that equipment out of service in the meantime.

Eyre would not discuss details, saying the decision ultimately will be up to the minister and his successor, Lt.-Gen. (soon to be General) Jennie Carignan. 

The navy has made a case publicly for replacing its four Victoria-class submarines and the Liberal government announced during the recent NATO Summit in Washington that it would proceed with the program.

The defence department was asked a series of questions about ships, planes and other pieces of equipment that are near the end of their service lives. It did not respond.

Eyre said the tough choices are not so much about budgets as they are about the age and survivability of the equipment.

"As a capability ages out, there's a declining pool of spare parts to be able to keep it going," he said. "Opening up assembly lines for some of these spare parts — if they're very small, if it's a fleet that is very small worldwide — may not make a lot of sense."