2023-11-29 15:57:12
(Quebec) The Trudeau government’s decision to award Boeing the $9 billion contract without a call for tenders to buy 16 P-8A Poseidon planes is “unfortunate,” according to François Legault, who deplores that Ottawa is “forgetting » thus Bombardier.
Posted at 10:57 a.m.
“If that’s the case, it’s unfortunate because we’re forgetting a great Quebec company, Bombardier,” said the Prime Minister while going to question period on Wednesday.
The decision will be announced Thursday by three federal cabinet ministers: Bill Blair (Defense), Jean-Yves Duclos (Public Services and Procurement) and François-Philippe Champagne (Innovation, Science and Industry). To try to calm the discontent, we should announce that the American giant will set up a research and development center in the Montreal region.
“In my conversation with Dominic LeBlanc [ministre fédéral des Affaires intergouvernementales]we addressed this subject, we expressed how important it is for Quebec and the government of Quebec that there is a process that involves a proper call for tenders,” indicated for his part the Minister responsible for Canadian Relations, Jean-François Roberge.
Government and aerospace industry sources confirmed to The Press that the decision to favor Boeing was made at a Cabinet meeting last week. This decision was to be ratified by the members of the Treasury Board committee during a special meeting Tuesday evening in Ottawa. This committee is chaired by the President of the Treasury Board, Anita Anand. Minister Jean-Yves Duclos serves as vice-president. The Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, also sits there.
The contract aims to purchase 16 P-8A Poseidon aircraft from Boeing to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force’s (RCAF) fleet of CP-140 Aurora surveillance aircraft.
The Trudeau government’s strategy to try to pass the pill in Quebec, where the Legault government has publicly requested a call for tenders, is already ready, according to internal notes prepared for this meeting and that The Press was able to consult.
It explains in particular that Ottawa fears that Bombardier will not be able to build the plane within a reasonable time and that this might harm the Department of National Defense, which might find itself without surveillance planes beyond the period of 2030, when the geopolitical context is highly volatile.
With Julien Arsenault and Joël-Denis Bellavance
1701276547
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