Government Operations committee  Thank you. Yes, quite right. Technological developments in military aviation have benefits for civil aviation and vice versa. Let me give you an example of the benefits for military aviation. There are aircraft derived from the Bombardier Global 7500 that have been used by the US military for a number of years.

Government Operations committee  Yes. Among the vectors for change that contribute to a sustainable aerospace sector, navigation is an important area. Airline companies are working very closely with the major navigation system suppliers, including Thales and CMC Electronics, in Canada. Navigation can be optimized in terms of ground traffic, parking and landing.

Government Operations committee  I cannot speak to the value of the investment made in the past, namely, $2 billion for the aircraft design itself. I can tell you however that some of our SME members benefited from direct transactions with Lockheed Martin. As a result of those transactions, those SMEs developed their technology and conducted structuring projects with CRIAQ.

Government Operations committee  I would not say it is abnormal, but I think the key industry expertise needed by Lockheed Martin must be defined right away, as well as the various aspects of innovation that encourage workforce skills development. We must also look at the main research areas, such as onboard artificial intelligence and highly sophisticated navigation systems for detecting or avoiding collisions or countermeasures.

Government Operations committee  Yes, but that would also mean consulting stakeholders in research and innovation. There are stakeholders in the industry, but academics are also a part of the research and innovation ecosystem. We represent people from the industry, but academics in this field could also make a contribution.

Government Operations committee  Thank you for your question. No, I was not surprised by the choice. The process was conducted in such a way that officials were able to assess the expertise of the various organizations and their proposals over a number of years. Firstly, the expected benefits of such a contract, as noted earlier, can be direct.

Government Operations committee  Thank you. The ITB policy is very important for Quebec. There are of course many industry players in this segment, and several sub-segments of defence and security in Canada and around the world. Yet the vast majority of manufacturers and universities in our sector in Quebec are focused on civil aviation.

Government Operations committee  Thank you. To begin, let me tell you about the Consortium for Research and Innovation in Aerospace in Quebec, or CRIAQ, which was established 20 years ago. It was founded by members of the industry who have been well established in Canada for just over 75 years. I am referring to major manufacturers of Canadian equipment, as well as level 1 companies, and pioneering universities in aerospace research.