Thank you, Mr. Lake.
I'm happy to do this CAE-style and simulate a meeting with your constituents. Let me just say I'd love to do it for real too, because this is an important issue. Perception is sometimes reality, and over the years--for reasons I won't go into--the perception has veered off from the reality in our country.
We are a country of regions, and that's what makes us strong. Each of our regional economies has its great strengths, and together we make a strong country.
Bombardier is kind of an interesting example of that. We were not always a big business. In fact, we started out as a business run by one guy out of a garage in rural Quebec. He had a child who died because a doctor couldn't get to his house in winter because the roads weren't plowed. He became obsessed with inventing what became the snowmobile. Your constituents know it well, not just from having fun on it, but as a critical way of servicing oil fields and for many other aspects of life. I think there are still some of those early machines operating in Alberta. Whenever I talk to people of a certain age, they remember them very well.
That's how this company got started. It is not a behemoth that was imposed somehow from some higher authority; this is a company that grew by grit, determination, and innovation. It still retains all those characteristics. It was based on innovation and still lives by innovation. It's a proud member of the Canadian economy, and it's in some ways a flag carrier for this country outside the country. It is a national icon to everybody outside of Canada and to Canadians when they see it outside of Canada.
It's an unusual asset to this country because it is a global leader in two fields. In some sense--perhaps without overstating it--it may be the last great globally competitive high-tech manufacturer left headquartered in this country. I stress “this country” because we have a presence across the country. We are an important part of the Montreal economy, there's no question about it, but we have important facilities outside of Montreal, and they're not just in aerospace.
In Thunder Bay, after AbitibiBowater's recent declaration of bankruptcy, Bombardier is the most viable part of the local economy. In Alberta we're involved in large training operations. Across the country we have at least 500 suppliers to whom I could point today. So it's important to recognize that it is a real contributor, before the discussion gets started about what government does for it.
I've already said to the committee--and I'll say it to your phantom constituents--that we have had a record of cooperation and partnership with the government. We've paid back 131% of what we were given in contracts and arrangements that are now concluded, and 85% of contracts that are still running. We intend to pay them all off, and I think that's not a bad record.
So the notion that Bombardier is somehow a creation of corporate welfare is about as far as you can get from the reality. It is an SME that grew and grew and will continue to grow. It retains some of the traditions and many of the values of a small family company. It's a very important partner across the country to the economy, and it is perhaps an example to others--as is the sector as a whole--for how the Canadian economy can evolve to be globally competitive on a sustained, long-term basis.
I'm not sure if that's going to convince your constituents, but I've tried.