First of all, with respect to competition, I understand that at the political and ministry levels, there are many agendas that have to be considered when you're deciding to make a large procurement. The main point of our presentation here today is that when those decisions get made, they should go through a competitive process, because that ensures that the best equipment, that the best value is delivered to our troops.
The other point in our message, which I think you drew a question on, was how we justify the fact that we should have work necessarily associated or apportioned specifically to Quebec. As we tried to explain in our presentation, just as it is with any organization, company, or product, there are strategic advantages and strategic elements that form part of anything you have in industry.
In Canada, it's a fact that the aerospace industry is centred in Quebec. It's a fact that there has been much time, effort, energy, dollars, blood, sweat, and tears to make that a reality. It therefore does not seem like a handout to me to say that's a strategic part of our nation, just as British Columbia is a strategic part of our nation, just as Newfoundland and Labrador and everywhere else have strategic advantages. When Canada stands up and talks about aerospace, we think of Quebec, just like we think about other industries in different areas, without stepping into that pot and trying to identify where they belong.
Aerospace in Canada has a very strong centre in Quebec, and that is something worth defending strategically. Just as you defend things strategically in a military mission and you look for strategic airlift or you look for strategic equipment, you look for where the best elements are. The elements to make the aircraft exist in Quebec. That's something worth considering. It's not something worth leaving out of hand and telling it to defend itself. That's not how you treat your strategic benefit. It's not how you provide incentive to industry.
Industry does not want to know that after we've been nurtured, we're going to be left alone. Madame Black used the expression “orphan”. We don't want the industry in aerospace to be orphaned by not considering the fact that it took many years and much investment to get it to where it is.
On the other side of your question, you also commented on our relationship with the OEMs. Let me take a step back. The AQA represents the SMEs, the small to medium-sized enterprises. Small to medium sized-enterprises, as I put it in our presentation, are family-run businesses. They're mom-and-pop shops. They don't have lobbyists. They don't have high-priced consultants. They don't have heavyweights who can come and knock on your door everyday here on the Hill. They have the Quebec Aerospace Association. What we do is speak on their behalf. When you're considering a military approvisionnement important, we ask that you please include consideration for these organizations that, to much extent, are the dreamers and the backbone of our aerospace industry in Quebec.
I can't think of stronger words than to say we rely on the OEMs to leave that vision. There are very important OEMs in the Quebec region, and we're very proud of that. We just want Canada to consider all the agendas.