Science and Research Committee on June 11th, 2026

[Daniel Perry]

Thank you very much for the question.

When it comes to the AI strategy, we were members of the minister's task force, so we had very high expectations but also very strong recommendations. Like many Canadians, we were looking forward to seeing what the document entailed. When it came out, to be quite frank with you, it missed the mark. When it comes to targets measuring what the strategy is looking to do, that's what's missing in there.

With that said, we were very eager to work with this government, work with the opposition and work with everyone, because at the end of the day, when we do have a good AI strategy—

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Tony Baldinelli]

With that, I'm going to have to stop you.

I'll go to my Liberal colleague Mr. Noormohamed for five minutes.

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank the witnesses for being here.

Mr. Yurichuk, I am from British Columbia, so I'm not going to hold against you the fact that you won a Grey Cup with the Argos, but it does allow me to ask you one important question.

What's the total value of federal government contracts that you've had at Wuxly?

[James Yurichuk]

We're getting close to $130 million to $140 million.

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

What proportion of your total business would that make up?

[James Yurichuk]

I'd say it's about 60% to 70%.

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Is it fair to say that you are seeing a substantial benefit because of the Canadian government's procuring from you?

[James Yurichuk]

Yes, indeed.

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

You've been critical of some components of the government's approach. As we look toward buying more Canadian and ensuring not only that Canadian suppliers have the best products, which we clearly do, but also that the means by which to acquire them is in place, I think we would all agree that these things don't happen overnight.

Over the course of how long have you seen your trajectory of government business grow?

[James Yurichuk]

We've been around 10 years, and we've been committed. Similar to my friends at Alchemy, we're one of those classic companies that sells a lot more out of country than we do here to our own Canadian army. We service Ukraine and we service the Nordic region, but—

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Walk me through this. I hear this, and I want to make sure that you are selling more to Canada and doing more. You just said that 60% to 70% of your business is done with the Canadian government—

[James Yurichuk]

Yes.

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

—but you say you're selling more abroad. Walk me through that logic.

[James Yurichuk]

There was a one-time instance during the COVID period, which was a large tranche of that, but that was our proof of track record of what could be done when we're activating another company rather than going through a sole-source supply chain.

In our particular situation, there is not a great chance for any Canadian companies to come in and be meaningful contributors with direct contracts with the government, because there is a legacy 20-year contract in place that there is very little competition for, and it's something to look at. There is room to look at adding a second prime and adding a Canadian prime. That's something that we're working on now.

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

That's important. It would be great, as we expand the amount that we're acquiring and as we expand the spending—and it's on truly unprecedented levels—to ensure that we're doing that.

You know that buying Canadian is a priority, so companies like yours that have the experience, I would imagine, would be part of that conversation, but I don't want to understate the point that the Government of Canada has been part of your business, and we're glad that you're doing that. It's important for all of us, but it's also important for us to make sure we're giving the feedback that helps to do those things, which I hope these conversations do.

I'll turn to you, Mr. Perry.

One thing that is important for all of us is that those of us who have had to build companies did that outside this country and raised capital outside this country. Historically, it's been harder for Canadian companies to acquire and raise capital in this country and to build their businesses here.

I would submit that this has happened regardless of political party. There has been, over the course of the last number of decades, in fact, this view that in order to be successful, you have to go outside. I think for the first time in our history we've reached a moment at which Canadians are saying, “Actually, do you know what? Being Canadian and investing in Canada matter.” This should matter, and it should be what drives us.

You and the companies you are affiliated with are dealing with investors. How do we unlock, particularly in dual use—in which there's a huge opportunity right now—the investor psychology to say that investing in Canada first and investing in Canadian companies and in Canadian start-ups right now is what matters so that those companies are in a position for government to be their first and best customer?

[Daniel Perry]

I would defer the question to my colleague Dana.

[Dana O'Born]

Thank you so much for the question.

I'm sorry to jump in. This is not an interruption; this is a thought.

The ITB program is an interesting tool that could be re-examined to be leveraged. I think most people in the room are aware that it's being passed over to the DIA, as I understand, within the next few weeks.

The ITB program has unlocked a number of opportunities and capital through the prime network, and there's still a number of unused contributions. I was having a conversation with a CEO the other day, who's looking to raise capital for a small defence start-up, and I suggested that there might be an opportunity to think about how capital through the ITB program could be unlocked.

BDC is another example. We need to move faster on capital getting out the door from there and make that capital more fluid and flexible. EDC does a really good job, but I think those are just some of the tools.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

The time is up for MP Noormohamed.

Thank you.

Now we will proceed to MP Blanchette-Joncas for two and a half minutes.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

In your experience, Mr. Pyun, do Bombardier and companies like yours miss out on innovation and R and D opportunities, not to mention industrial benefits, because of how long procurement processes take in Canada?

[Pierre Seïn Pyun]

I would say two things to that.

First, with the defence industrial strategy and the new defence investment agency, we've seen a change in the past few months. I'll give you an example. The contract we signed in December is one of the first through the new agency. That was a faster process.

The second point I want to make comes back to what I said about innovation. An area where the government needs to do more work is the innovation acquisition process. That's a different approach. It involves trial and error, I would say, with a different type of risk tolerance and a modular approach.

I agree with what was said about the industrial and technological benefits policy and the benefits that have been generated. However, it will be important to engage with the industrial base on innovative solutions early, before the request for proposal process to address future requirements and consider solutions Canada's industrial base can provide.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

All right.

I want to discuss labour again. It's essential. You need more than just robots to build airplanes. What could the federal government do to support specialized schools? They are the ones that deal with Transport Canada certification. We know there's going to be a critical need for labour. What can the federal government do to make the situation better, to anticipate that demand and provide for training requirements?

[Pierre Seïn Pyun]

There is a federal sectoral council that has estimates of future labour requirements for the aviation sector as a whole.

Take Quebec, for example. Its sectoral committee on the aerospace workforce, the Comité sectoriel de main-d'œuvre en aérospatiale, estimates the aviation sector will need to fill 65,000 jobs in the next decade. That's not just in manufacturing. The figure includes the rest of the industry, airlines, airport services and so forth. That means there's a lot of work to do.

More training capacity is needed, because the schools in Quebec are full. Other training resources are needed. There's a program in the U.S. to bring veterans into the industry, or help with that transition. A similar program in Canada could be helpful.

That's a potential choke point for the industry.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I'm sorry for interrupting. Time is up for MP Blanchette-Joncas.

We will end this panel with four minutes for MP Ho and then four minutes for MP Deschênes-Thériault.

MP Ho, please go ahead for four minutes.

[Vincent Ho, Conservative, Richmond Hill South, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

First I have a question for Mr. Pyun at Bombardier.

The Liberal Prime Minister has pursued what he called back in January a new “strategic partnership” with China, focused on security, trade, energy and economic co-operation.

Last year you wrote in an article the following:

We should always seek collaboration, integration and interoperability with the United States. However, this should not preclude Canada from standing on its own in key areas and becoming a contributor of national security knowhow and technologies for our allies.

Do you agree with the Prime Minister's view of having Canada seek deeper collaborations and relationships with Beijing?

[Pierre Seïn Pyun]

My point, when I wrote this piece, was that we have a very important relationship with the U.S. in defence and security. There's no question about that. We have common obligations, such as NORAD, so we should keep on reinforcing this linkage and investing in this relationship, but it doesn't preclude us from diversifying our partnerships with other countries. It's not a zero-sum game.

With respect to China, there has been some guidance on sensitive sectors and non-sensitive sectors. We have activities in China. They're focused on civilian aircraft.