Former auditor general among independent experts to oversee F-35 reset

OTTAWA – A former auditor general is one of two independent panellists appointed to oversee the redesign of Canada’s troubled plan to buy the F-35 stealth fighter.

Denis Desautels, who served as spending watchdog from 1991 to 2001, was named to the agency that’s been created to verify whether the radar-evading jet is the right choice for the Royal Canadian Air Force.

The current auditor general, Michael Ferguson, set off a political firestorm this spring with a report that accused National Defence of hiding the true cost of the multibillion-dollar program and said Public Works did not follow proper procedures.

The fallout from the report has tarnished the Harper government’s carefully crafted fiscal credentials.

The creation of a review secretariat, under Public Works, and now the appointment of Desautels is seen as an attempt to retrieve that credibility.

Historian and economics professor Kenneth Norrie has also been appointed to the oversight body by Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose.