Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I enlighten the colleague who has just spoken on this issue to what has been occurring in the industry of which the motion speaks. He and his colleagues certainly seem not to be as familiar with the industry as I would have expected them to be.
It is somewhat suitable that we are having this debate the day after Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield returned from a very successful aerospace mission. It is also interesting to note that RADARSAT was launched very recently. I seem to recall that the city of Montreal was somehow involved in the launching of RADARSAT into space. One of the things members opposite might do is to watch events in Montreal and to be a little more familiar with the ways in which Montreal companies and other companies in Quebec are participating in this very prosperous industry.
Quite simply, the Bloc Quebecois has it wrong. The hon. member for Charlesbourg who proposed this motion would have this House believe there is no conversion of the military industry to civilian production and that the Montreal companies in the aerospace industry are facing hard times as a result. Perhaps he and his colleagues were not listening when this House debated defence conversion on May 5, 1994. Perhaps they did not participate in the debate or perhaps the Bloc Quebecois simply wants to stir up the pot, any pot. Let me give the member some of the facts.
First, the Canadian aerospace industry is already well on the road to converting from military to civilian applications.
Montreal companies have been in the forefront of this trend and provide excellent examples of firms that have managed to win a niche in the international aerospace industry while at the same time remaining competitive.
Here are statistics that are well known in the Montreal aerospace sector.
In the 1980s, 70 per cent of the sales of the aerospace and defence industry were for military use, and 30 per cent for commercial use.
Today, the mix is reversed, with sales of military equipment down to 30 per cent while sales of commercial products have gone up to 70 per cent. And the commercial component keeps growing. Soon the civilian, commercial component will account for 80 per cent of Canada's defence and aerospace sales.
If the hon. member took a closer look at the Montreal industry, he would realize that these statistics reflect the reality and see how Montreal aerospace firms run the entire range of commercial aerospace design and manufacture.
Is the hon. member interested in final assembly of aircraft? He should look at Bombardier and Canadair. They specialize in commuter aircraft. Perhaps the hon. members across the way should think about that before they raise the issue of defence industry orientation.
Does the hon. member want examples of Montreal firms that design and manufacture helicopters? There is Bell Helicopter Textron.
Landing gears? Héroux Inc. Does he want to know more about world class aircraft engine designers and manufacturers? He need only remember that Canada is a world leader in the manufacturing of small commercial turbo fan engines. One of the leading manufacturers is, of course, Pratt and Whitney. Most of the company's R&D is on advanced materials, which can be used for any number of commercial purposes.
For avionics systems, the hon. member need only think of Canadian Marcony.
Finally, if the hon. member for Charlesbourg and the other hon. members who have taken part in the debate today want information about flight simulators, they should talk to CAE Electronics Ltd. They will learn that not only are this company's simulators used for commercial as well as military aviation, but CAE has begun drawing on its flight simulator technology to enter into the health field.
These Montreal-area companies are world renowned for the quality of their design. They have built a solid reputation in serving particular niches in commercial aerospace.
I certainly hope members opposite are listening. The Montreal industry has prospered because it is part of a broader Canadian aerospace sector.
Once again, let the hon. member look at the facts about the aerospace industry in Canada. We have the sixth largest aerospace industry in the world. In 1994 aerospace sales were $9.6 billion and the industry employed 53,000 people. The Aerospace Industry Association of Canada estimates that the sector will add more than $8 billion to Canada's GDP from exports in the coming year. The aerospace sector continues to be the one high tech industry where Canada maintains a consistent trade surplus, which was $2.5 billion last year. Let us go back one more year where more detailed statistics are available.
In 1993 total Canadian sales of aircraft components and related products and services were $7 billion, of which almost $5 billion were exports. Quebec firms accounted for over $4 billion of the $7 billion worth of sales, representing 60 per cent of the total sales of the Canadian aerospace industry.
Almost 200 aeronautics firms with approximately 25,000 people are located in Quebec. The companies and the employees clearly have a major interest in the continuing success of the aerospace industry.
What are the keys to success? How did we reach the position where Canada is a world leader in aerospace? There are many reasons. I am sure hon. members across the floor would be happy to list some of them. The skills of our workforce across the country including Montreal, the quality of our educational institutions and the high standard of living that attracts people from around the world are characteristics of the industry and of the country.
But one of the most important reason for the success of the aerospace industry in Montreal is one that Bloc members will never mention or recognize, even though they must realize that it is the truth. They will have to agree that one of the major reasons why the Montreal aerospace industry has become a world leader in the commercial aerospace sector is the benefits of a strong and united Canada.