Liberals’ plan for defence industry includes pledge of 125K jobs
Global News
The $6.6-billion strategy aims to help small and medium-sized Canadian businesses break into the defence industry and reorient spending decisions.
The Liberal government is making sweeping changes to the way it approaches supporting the domestic defence industry, as Canada looks to transition away from overreliance on the United States for military gear.
“In this uncertain world, it is more important than ever that Canada possess the capacity to sustain its own defence and safeguard its own sovereignty,” reads the defence-industrial strategy Ottawa is set to release this week.
“This is especially important when it comes to protecting Canada’s Arctic sovereignty and promoting a secure North.”
The government was expected to announce its strategy last week, but Prime Minister Mark Carney suspended his travel due to a mass-shooting in B.C. and pushed the announcement to later this week. Media outlets on Sunday published the details of the document officials shared with journalists ahead of its official launch.
The $6.6-billion strategy aims to help small and medium-sized Canadian businesses break into the defence industry and reorient spending decisions to prioritize equipment made in Canada, instead of relying on foreign military contractors such as American firms.
The document claims it will spur 125,000 jobs over a decade. According to a government press release last December, the Canadian defence industry “supports” more than 81,000 jobs.
The strategy promises to restructure how Ottawa takes into consideration benefits to the Canadian economy when it awards contracts, known as an industrial technological benefit policy.
Canada intends to partner with “Canadian champions” that actually deliver within stated budgets and timelines, in exchange for benefits such as research funding, export promotion, financing and access to testing infrastructure.
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