Thank you very much.
You referred to the regional and industrial benefits that the aerospace sector stands to benefit from. I said earlier that we are talking about more than $12.6 billion. This is a significant amount of money. Consequently, we are making sure that the industry will be able to participate in the high tech projects, as I said earlier.
However, it is important to know something. I would like to go back to what I said in my opening remarks. I said that, in order to assess the opportunity or the added-value of industrial benefits provided by companies such as Boeing, the government has to base itself on several criteria.
First of all—this is important—it has to be directly connected to the purchase that we are making. That is quite understandable.
Secondly, the industrial benefits have to occur following the signature of the contract. Namely, we will not accept contracts that Boeing may have signed with its suppliers prior to the signature of the contract. These have to be new industrial benefits.
Thirdly, the obligations have to be in line with our industrial benefit policy. That means that, as I said earlier, there has to be a transfer of technology and this has to be significant for small businesses. That is what my department and I, as the minister, are doing.
I would like to add that I am proud of managing this policy with the public service, because we will ensure that the Canadian aerospace sector benefits from contracts that will be very significant to it, so that it is well positioned for other contracts that it may enter into with other international players.