Thank you, Madam Chair, for the opportunity to be here today to discuss the development and support of the aerospace sector.
Airbus Helicopters has been a proud member of Canada's aerospace sector since 1984. Today, Airbus is a leading supplier of helicopters in Canada, supporting a fleet of more than 760 helicopters flown by 220 operators throughout Canada.
Our headquarters and main manufacturing facility is in Fort Erie, Ontario. We also have an eastern sales office located in Montreal and a western Canada sales support office in British Columbia, with a 24-7 customer support network and a team of technical representatives supporting our customers throughout the country.
As my colleague Philippe mentioned, Airbus Helicopters Canada is part of Airbus's robust industrial footprint in Canada, which covers commercial aircraft, defence and space, as well as other Airbus companies, such as NavBlue and Stelia, which you'll be hearing from during this meeting.
Airbus Helicopters is the world's number one helicopter manufacturer. It's a global leader in providing the most efficient civil and military helicopter solutions to our customers who serve, protect, save lives and safely carry passengers in highly demanding environments.
Safety really is at the core of all Airbus activities and everything we do, from design, engineering and production to maintenance, training and our partnerships.
Airbus Helicopters' activities in Canada are focused in five primary areas: aircraft sales and delivery, composite manufacturing, repair and overhaul, supplemental-type certificates and option development. I'd like to take an opportunity to highlight two of these areas.
Our Fort Erie facility is a centre of excellence for engineering and composite manufacturing. We are a sole-source supplier of eight different platform types flying globally. Airbus Helicopters Canada produces composite components for a variety of our leading models internationally, sold in more than 100 markets. It's fair to say that if you've seen an Airbus helicopter flying anywhere in the world, it will have parts that were manufactured in Canada at our Fort Erie facility.
We also have a repair and overhaul department, which is a centre of excellence for single engine dynamic components. This department provides overhaul and repair services to Airbus helicopter operators worldwide for the light single engine product range. Today more than 50% of our workforce in Fort Erie is working on products that we export.
As an essential business in the Niagara region, our doors have remained open throughout COVID to support our customers' life-saving missions, as well as the global supply chain for Airbus.
I have only five minutes, so I'm going to jump through this before I get the card.
Notable para-public organizations that fly Airbus helicopters include the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, and STARS air ambulance, which provides air ambulance services in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Also, seven of eight police forces that operate airborne law enforcement units in Canada fly Airbus helicopters. They include the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Ontario Provincial Police and Calgary Police Service, just to name a few. On the commercial side, we have a number of key operators that fly in western and eastern Canada, as well here in Niagara, in our backyard.
Helicopter operators in Canada have been deeply affected by the double whammy of the COVID-19 pandemic and the severe slowdown in the resources sector. In 2020, many of our operators experienced the worst year in their history. A number have already gone bankrupt or pulled out of the sector entirely. Therefore, as this committee considers means of supporting the aerospace sector through the recovery and beyond, I would encourage you to think broadly and remember that the aerospace sector includes helicopters.
When it comes to government procurement, it is critical that those serving in uniform are equipped with the best tools and technologies available to perform their essential life-saving missions protecting Canadians. We fully support strategies aimed at leveraging defence procurement to produce economic benefits for Canada, which is precisely what the industrial and technological benefits policy value proposition—