Good afternoon, Madam Chair and members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear today on behalf of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada and to offer some comments on Bill C-31.
I also want to thank this committee for its continued support of and engagement with our industry. In particular, your support through the repeal of the luxury tax in the last budget was a significant victory for jobs in Canada, and your support for a national aerospace strategy to complement the government's defence strategy will be essential to the long-term future of aerospace in Canada.
Madam Chair, this committee, over the years, has been a consistent and supportive friend of Canada's aerospace industry, and it is truly appreciated.
Members of the committee, it's our understanding that some of the legislation, in particular division 16, has not been updated since the fifties. As you have heard me say in the past, an industrial strategy is long overdue. It's also my understanding that new legislation was just introduced. I have not yet had the opportunity to review that legislation. We do, however, welcome the changes and leadership provided by the Prime Minister, Minister Fuhr, CEO Guzman, the public service and all parliamentarians.
My members support changes that will enable the Defence Investment Agency to move forward with the resources and authorities needed to ensure efficient, effective and timely investment in Canada's defence industry and procurement for the Canadian Armed Forces. As this legislation provides a mandate for new regulations and policies, governance and ensuring outcomes will be critical. The current policies are not reflecting the ambition of the government's direction, so an update and a clear path, which this legislation provides, are essential. We urge the government to prioritize early, transparent and ongoing engagement with industry, supported by clear demand signals that enable companies to make informed, long-term investment and workforce decisions.
This is particularly important as Canada's defence industrial ecosystem continues to expand in response to the defence industrial strategy. The establishment of the Defence Investment Agency presents an important opportunity to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Canada's defence procurement system.
To support meaningful industry participation in capability development at earlier stages, the government should also accelerate security clearance processing. Since the responsibility for security clearances remains with PSPC, the DIA minister should work closely with the PSPC minister to ensure that adequate resources and sustained attention are dedicated to reducing clearance timelines. This remains a barrier to industry and a barrier to investment.
While industry strongly supports the government's commitment to making defence procurement faster and more efficient, greater clarity is still required regarding the mechanism, processes and timelines through which companies can engage in procurement opportunities. Although we give credit to our DND and government partners for making engagement a priority, earlier engagement for the long-term needs of DND is essential. As the government advances and implements this legislation, there needs to be a process to clearly communicate the rationale for any expanded exemptions to competitive procurement processes in order to maintain transparency, accountability and public confidence.
As Canada advances the defence industrial strategy, we are recommending that steps be taken to establish a clear understanding of the country's existing sovereign industrial capabilities. This should include a comprehensive mapping exercise to identify the products, services, technologies and capacities currently available within the Canadian defence industrial base in order to address the fragmented and piecemeal assessments that are presently conducted across multiple departments and third party organizations. Although bits and pieces of this work are done, a more comprehensive overview and mapping exercise is required.
As the DIA develops programming to support industry, the approach needs to foster innovation, accelerate industrial growth and ensure that firms in Canada are better positioned to meet current and future defence requirements. Industry supports that enable industry secondment programs within the DIA are a means of strengthening collaboration, improving mutual understanding and enhancing procurement outcomes. It's important that safeguards be established to ensure that participants are not subject to undue restrictions upon returning to their organizations, including unnecessary limitations on engaging with government or participating in future opportunities.
In closing, I want to thank the committee again for the opportunity to appear here today and for your continued support. I look forward to the discussion and questions.