Finance committee  Let me try very briefly to say that the purchase value of the F-35 planes is about $4.8 billion. This is a new plane. This is not an off-the-shelf product. If we were to apply, for example, the IRB policy to that, we would be limited to about $4.8 billion. I did mention before th

Finance committee  This is possible because this is not off the shelf. In terms of the IRB, it is an excellent program. Last year Minister Clement made some amendments. There had been no amendments in 23 years. He made some great amendments to that program. We really support the IRB program, but i

Finance committee  Absolutely not, Mr. Chair. Without exception, every Canadian company working in this area has repeatedly told us that they are ready, willing and able to be competitive, that the $12 billion target—which is a lot of jobs here in Canada— is perfectly attainable and that they are r

Finance committee  That's a very important issue for our members. There are thousands of jobs at stake across the country, and we believe we are in the best possible position to keep those jobs, to increase those jobs, and I certainly hope the policies will be developed to allow that.

Finance committee  Merci, monsieur le président. The Canadian aerospace industry is no less than fifth in the world. In 2009 it produced $22 billion in revenue, 80% of which was generated through exports. Since 2009, it has employed 79,000 Canadians, 46% of them in Quebec, 28% in Ontario, 17% in w

National Defence committee  My understanding is that all the partner countries follow the same process.

National Defence committee  I believe they've proven that by the fact that we export 80% of what we produce.

National Defence committee  I think Mr. Bertrand was accurate in saying that all countries and all defence ministries try to obtain the maximum benefits. We are confident that we can compete because of the quality of our companies, their innovation and the fact that they are already successful. In fact, 80%

National Defence committee  It's quite clear that if they don't invest, they won't create jobs. If they don't get contracts, they won't have jobs.

National Defence committee  Yes, absolutely. I do believe that if we're in a position to gain $12 billion from the purchase--and I hope we would get more--if we get that, we're already doing a lot better than we would do through the IRB program.

National Defence committee  Our companies have been very supportive of the announcement. They see that as an opportunity, as you've heard. There are many others in this room, such as CMC in Montreal, CAE, Héroux-Devtek, Cascade, Bristol-Magellan, Rolls-Royce, who certainly see that as a great opportunity to

National Defence committee  That's right.

National Defence committee  That's a very important point. Mr. Kalil covered that in his presentation, but let's be clear. Companies have to invest up front to gain these contracts, and Canadian companies will be leery of investing up front if there seems to be some uncertainty as to where the program is go

National Defence committee  Mr. Chair, we've had concerns with the IRB programs. We've expressed them, and Minister Clement, last year, about six months after he came into office, was able to make amendments to that program that made it much better. It had not been changed in 23 years, so certainly we were

National Defence committee  What I am suggesting is that this public accounting would allow government, should a problem develop, to use some of the instruments that governments have to make sure that the commitments that have been made will be met.