Boeing not an option for fighter jet replacements, Sajjan suggests

‘We work with trusted partners,’ minister says

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan suggested Thursday that Canada would not consider a Boeing product for any future fighter jet and that the door on the company’s involvement in other future Canadian military procurements is close to being shut.

The move comes after the U.S. government hit Bombardier with duties of almost 220 per cent on its CSeries passenger jets. That penalty came as a result of Boeing’s complaint that Bombardier was selling the CSeries in the U.S. at a lower cost because it received subsidies from the Canadian government. Bombardier is selling the planes to Delta Airlines.

But the move is being seen in the Canadian government as an attempt by Boeing and the Trump administration to undercut Canada’s aerospace industry. Boeing receives significant subsidies in the U.S. In addition, Boeing does not make aircraft similar to those Bombardier sold Delta.

Canada has put on hold its planned purchase from Boeing of 18 Super Hornet jets to be used as an interim fighter for the RCAF.

Sajjan on Thursday suggested full fleet of 88 fighter jets?

“Our government is not going to allow our aerospace sector to be attacked in this manner,” Sajjan responded. “We can’t do business with a company that treats us in this way.”

It would be legally difficult for Canada to freeze out Boeing from competing on the future fighter jet replacement. But requirements for a long-term partner,” the U.K.’s defence secretary, Sir Michael Fallon, warned. He noted that it has won large contracts from the British government for new aircraft. Those include Apache helicopters and maritime reconnaissance aircraft. “They are going to apply for other defence contracts, and this type of attitude could clearly endanger our relationship,” Fallon said.

Boeing officials say defence procurement should not be linked to other commercial activities.

Marc Allen, Boeing’s president of international business, said the company took its action to ensure a level playing field in the aerospace industry. He said Boeing believes that global trade works only if everyone plays by the same rules. That wasn’t the case for Bombardier, he added.

But Canadian government officials privately say that a duty of almost 220 per cent on Canadian aircraft is not a level playing field but protectionism by the Trump administration. answers to basic questions, including the number of asylum claims that have been processed since January. The officials were also unable to say how much the additional resources deployed to process irregular border crossers have cost.

“It just speaks to the fact that the government does not have a plan,” she said. “It was a complete waste of my time.”

The officials did say that 80 immigration staff have been reassigned to work on the spike in asylum seekers, and a temporary processing facility has been opened in downtown Montreal. Additional staff from the CBSA and the RCMP have also been deployed in Quebec, but officials told the committee that the additional work hasn’t posed major problems elsewhere.