Minister of Industry and Minister of the Environment Welcome Significant Industrial Benefits Investments in Ontario

OTTAWA, January 25, 2008 — The Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry, along with his colleague, the Honourable John Baird, Minister of the Environment, today welcomed the news that Boeing and Lockheed Martin are providing contracts in Ontario with a Canadian content value of more than $341 million, as part of their industrial benefits commitments to Canada.

"These significant investments are a sign of confidence in the talent and abilities of our region's businesses, which have demonstrated that they have what it takes to become part of Boeing's and Lockheed Martin's global supply chains," said Minister Baird.

All of these contracts and investments are the result of the government's purchase of strategic and tactical airlift capabilities for the Canadian Forces. Under Canada's industrial benefits policy, major government procurements carry with them the guarantee that prime contractors will invest 100 percent of their contract values in the Canadian economy. Contractors are free to engage in commercial activities that make good business sense to them, thereby enabling them to build long-lasting business relationships.

The purchase and support of four C-17 aircraft from Boeing will see that company undertake approximately $1.5 billion in economic activity in Canada. In another contract for the recently announced procurement of 17 C 130J Hercules aircraft, Lockheed Martin has agreed to an $842-million investment, with further in-service support commitments to be negotiated over the next year.

"These investments are today's snapshot of the economic activity that has begun to flow from the strategic and tactical airlift procurement," said the Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry. "They represent just the beginning of the significant industrial benefits to be realized in the coming years."

Given the extensive capacity of Canadian industry, businesses from all regions of the country are benefiting from these two major procurements, and are likewise expected to benefit further from the government's overall "Canada First" initiative. More projects, each with a guaranteed dollar-for-dollar return on investment, are expected in the future.