Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
I want to start by thanking the witnesses for being here this morning to remind us all of the importance of government assistance for a restart in the aerospace industry to make sure that we don't lose permanently manufacturing jobs or disrupt the supply chain. Madam Benoît pointed out that we might lose the expertise that will allow future development of the industry.
I also want to thank the witnesses for reminding us of the absence of a sector-specific strategy in aerospace and for reminding us that these are jobs all across the country, not just in Montreal or in the GTA but also in British Columbia, where I represent aerospace workers.
I want to turn, though, to what I see as an important factor in the future of aerospace, and that's the largest procurement by a government in aerospace history: the fighter jet procurement. The government is now evaluating the bids and looking at the industrial and technological benefit packages. I think those are important for jobs, obviously, but I think they're also important to maintain Canadian access to and participation in technological development and to our national sovereignty.
I want to start by asking Mr. Mueller about both the ability of Canadian aerospace companies to provide those technological and jobs benefits as part of the fighter package and whether the government has been really consulting—again, given the COVID crisis—on the importance of this procurement for the Canadian aerospace industry.