OTTAWA – Ottawa is awash in speculation that the price tag for the controversial stealth fighter program is set to take a huge jump.
   
A government sponsored report written by the accounting firm KPMG is widely expected to show that the cost of owning 65 jets could stretch to almost $40-billion.
   
That’s a big leap from last spring’s $25-billion estimate by the auditor general, who blasted the Harper government for low-balling the purchase in a scathing report.
   
Over the previous two years, the Conservatives insisted the all-in price for the jets was going to be up to 16 billion dollars.
   
Defence sources say next week’s KPMG report is expected to present a range of figures for cost ownership, depending on the number of years the Royal Canadian Air Force intends to fly the plane.
   
Meanwhile, several top government officials have denied a media report that a cabinet committee has decided to scrap the F-35 purchase altogether and look at other alternatives.