You are right. It is important to state that there is an agreement between Lockheed Martin, Pratt & Whitney and GE Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team as far as access to contracts by Canadian businesses is concerned. Naturally, these benefits represent business opportunities for Quebec companies. Gilles Labbé, the president and chief executive officer of Héroux-Devtek, made the following comment:
This is the largest defence program we have ever seen! It is the biggest program of the next quarter century.
This is historic for Canada and excellent news for the Quebec aerospace cluster and the entire Canadian aerospace industry. As Mr. MacKay mentioned, Claude Lajeunesse, the president and CEO of the Aerospace Industry Association of Canada, made the following statement:The next generation fighter is the single largest military aircraft procurement program of the Government of Canada in the foreseeable future and will positively affect the Canadian aerospace industry for decades to come.
I agree.