That's what I wanted to talk about. In order to enhance this industry, we need to be able to sell its projects and programs, to present them to Canadians and future workers as jobs of the future. The aerospace sector needs to be seen as a sector of the future for workers.
Currently, several Canadian companies are involved in manufacturing components for the F‑35. These include Magellan Aerospace in Kitchener, Héroux Devtek and Pratt & Whitney in Longueuil, Asco Aerospace Canada and Avcorp Industries in British Columbia, and Bell Machines in Ontario.
Is there a way for the Government of Canada to promote this sector to the public and to the next generation of workers, and to make the case that this sector offers good, stable, reliable jobs? The government must commit to doing whatever it takes to ensure that the maintenance of the F‑35 or Gripen is carried out in Canada, regardless of which aircraft is chosen at the end of the process, and that the procurement of components necessary to maintain the aircraft is done by Canadian, not foreign, subcontractors, whenever possible, while respecting its trading partners. There is a way to negotiate this. It would be an excellent way to bring more stability to the Canadian aerospace ecosystem.