Evidence of meeting #21 for Industry, Science and Technology in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was industry.
A recording is available from Parliament.
1 p.m.
Liberal
Nathaniel Erskine-Smith Liberal Beaches—East York, ON
Thanks very much.
Chair, if you'd like a couple of minutes of the remaining five minutes, they're all yours.
1 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sherry Romanado
Thank you very much.
I know there are two minutes remaining in that spot, and I welcome a chance to ask a question in committee.
I want to follow up on something that my colleague MP Garrison brought up.
Mr. Mueller, perhaps you could talk a little bit about this.
With respect to “Strong, Secure, Engaged”, in the defence policy that was brought in a few years back, in 2017, I believe, there is dedicated, costed-out funding for the strategic fighter program. You mentioned a little bit about that.
Can you talk about the opportunities that it's going to bring Canada in terms of our economic recovery? When we talk about the north warning system, I know we need to have that conversation about replacing it and the fighter jet program. These are opportunities for Canada to invest heavily, and we've made the commitment to do so but also to create good-paying jobs and in-service support for many years to come, because we have a habit of keeping our assets in defence for a long time. If you can you elaborate a little bit about that, it would be great.
Thanks.
1 p.m.
Interim President and Chief Executive Officer, Aerospace Industries Association of Canada
Absolutely, and again I'm not going to comment on a specific procurement and different companies bidding there, but I would agree.
We've been advocating for action to again maximize defence procurement and government partnerships to drive industrial growth. There are definitely opportunities there and, as I said before, in terms of COVID-19, there is no doubt that aerospace is a strategically important sector playing a significant role and contributing to Canada's overall economic recovery.
Again, that's the message we've been giving to government and to you, as parliamentarians, calling for the acceleration of planned program spending in defence and space to ensure that we can contribute to that economic recovery. As I said before, 80% of what we produce is exported, and there is a real opportunity there.
1 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sherry Romanado
Thank you very much.
That is our time for today.
I want to thank you for your testimony. It will be of enormous help to us. We are very grateful to you for taking the time to appear before our committee and for sharing your knowledge and wisdom in this matter with us.
I'd like to thank our excellent translators, and IT crew for getting the echo to stop at the beginning of the meeting. To our clerk and analysts, thank you for everything you're doing.
The meeting is adjourned.