Well fuck ... there it is. :/
In interviews now available online, Pearkes stated that the American Deputy Secretary of Defense told him that Canada did not need to build the Arrow; that the United States had lots of aircraft. Pearkes further explains that in order to honour the NORAD agreement, he felt he needed to introduce the Bomarc missile, which would be the main defensive weapon for Canada. But he noted that if he cancelled the Arrow, Canada would not have an air defence in the ensuing time before the Bomarcs were installed and operational. However, if he struck a deal with the Deputy Secretary of Defense, wherein he would allow American aircraft to train from Canadian bases during that interim period, he could cancel the Arrow and let the US handle our air defence should the need arise. This admission by Pearkes is startling to say the least.