International Trade committee  I don't think so.

International Trade committee  In our case, very much so. Our largest customers are Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman on the F-35, Boeing—Boeing is our largest customer— and Gulfstream. It's extensive throughout the United States.

International Trade committee  That's right, from the west coast to the east coast, Savannah, Georgia, to Seattle, Washington State. In some of those areas, in the case of Seattle, there's a full-time locally hired person, Mr. Sheehan, who's been nothing but very good and outstanding about supporting us at Centra and me over the years.

International Trade committee  In our business, as I said, we're dealing extensively with L.A., Seattle, and Dallas-Fort Worth. These are the three principal areas we're actually dealing with. We're an established aerospace supplier, so for us in the U.S., the need is not as great in some areas. But obviously, the fact that we're the largest Boeing supplier makes it key that this individual in Seattle is always informed of what we're doing and what our agenda is, because these are voiced locally.

International Trade committee  I just want to add, going back on your question, sir, that we talked obviously about regions of the world and priority sectors, but I would certainly talk about priority markets. What I found over the years is that there are some aerospace resources focused in Africa.

International Trade committee  I guess it's almost a bit of both in the sense that I know, again in our sector, there are some local resources who are very comfortable in their job. Are you getting my meaning?

International Trade committee  For some, it's like their job is on the line every day. They're passionate and they want to be engaged and to help. We talked about corporate memory, but maybe after six or eight years.... And I've just seen this in Spain. The case in Spain was not a case of an individual who was not performing.

International Trade committee  Obviously at one point the government has to decide which sector it will prioritize. As I said, in our sector we've been fortunate. There are a number of focused individuals who are looking at our sector. I certainly wouldn't recommend that we look at that, but at the end of the day in some of the countries one can't be all things to all people, and then it becomes which priority sector the government wants to push forward.

International Trade committee  In our case, we do, but it's not on the export financing or market development, but more on the financing side. They're part of our banking syndicate. In terms of using their services, our customers are the Boeings of this world—Gulfstream, Cessna, Bombardier, EADS. They're large multinationals that are well financed.

International Trade committee  Excuse me, Brent. I guess in our case we've been a fortunate story on financing. We're in our 19th consecutive year of year-over-year sales growth, so obviously when you're talking to bankers you're showing a success. In December, 2010—and you know how bad things were in Canada in terms of the financial crisis—we were able to renew our banking agreement at a lower cost and expand our financing by $20 million.

International Trade committee  I am certainly looking, as I said in my remarks, at the locally hired staff. What I have found over the years is that these people are passionate. They're in the country. They know their market. They want to help and they want to be engaged. One of the challenges they're having is how to actually engage their community.

International Trade committee  Thank you very much. I offer my thanks to the committee for inviting me to meet with you. For just a couple of minutes, I'll provide some background on who I am. I'm Jacques Bonaventure, director of business development for Centra Industries. We're an aerospace manufacturer based in Cambridge, Ontario.