Mr. Speaker, it was 35 years ago Sunday, February 20, 1959, that the Diefenbaker government cancelled the Canadian made Avro Arrow aircraft which was the sleekest and most advanced military plane of its day. Thus ended a second national dream for Canada.
Janusz Zurakowski, who had a distinguished military career in Poland, Britain and Europe, arrived in Toronto in 1952 and became the first test pilot for the Avro Arrow. Jan and his wife Anna own Kartuzy Lodge near Barry's Bay in my constituency. When asked about flying so fast he said: "It feels just like flying slowly, only faster".
The Arrow could fly at twice the speed of sound. It would still have been a modern aircraft in the early 1980s when we spent many times the cost to buy CF-18 aircraft from the United States.
The Diefenbaker government ordered the six Arrows already built to be cut up for scrap. All records, all factory facilities, all plans of any kind were ordered destroyed. What a sad commentary on a fantastic Canadian achievement.
As Canadians, let us build from our fires of success, not from our ashes. The Janusz Zurakowskis will be glad to see the change.