CANADIAN PM LOCKED IN TUG OF WAR WITH MINISTER OVER AIRBUS PAINT?

photo of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, left, and Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay ,right

OTTAWA, Canada - Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been locked in a lengthy tug of war with his defence minister Peter MacKay, over the future of the military's VIP Airbus, newly disclosed documents show.
Peter MacKay has repeatedly rejected requests from the prime minister's staff to have the Airbus painted a civilian white and red instead of its current military grey.

• MacKay and senior officers argue that the white colour scheme would be too visible whenever the passenger jet is sent on troop and cargo missions to risky locales, as happens now when the aircraft is not needed by the prime minister or the Governor General. Senior government officials say no final decision has been made.
• But internal emails indicate the Privy Council Office — Harper's own department — ordered the military last September to arrange for the new paint job at the next scheduled maintenance.
• Documents outlining the two-year tussle over the VIP plane were obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.
• The air force owns five Airbus 310 transports, one of which is configured on the inside for VIPs. The front section features a self-contained apartment with shower, bed and parlour, though the facilities are utilitarian and not at all luxurious. More than half the interior has regular passenger seating.
• Since early 2009, the Prime Minister's Office has been raising the possibility of a civilian paint scheme with the minister of defence or directly with the military — only to be rebuffed repeatedly.

The repainting proposal originated early in 2009 with someone in close contact with the Prime Minister's Office and whose identity is withheld in the released documents.

Source: CBC