HELP AEROSPACE TAKE FLIGHT.

Canada's aviation industry, and the economy that depends on it, is at risk. Global airline traffic over the summer was not at the level the industry was hoping for and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will certainly be even deeper and longer than anyone thought.

Airlines are the most visible and vital tip of a very big economic iceberg: the aerospace industry. They don't just fly passengers and cargo, they also deliver aerospace jobs — especially in Canada.

Canadians can take great pride in the long and accomplished history of its aerospace industry, which has always allowed Canadians to fly on aircraft that are designed and made right here in Canada, including the three workhorses of modern aviation: the De Havilland Canada Dash 8 (now Q400), the Canadair Regional Jet and the Airbus A220, which was developed by Bombardier as the C Series.

Canadian aerospace companies are important global leaders in their respective fields. They include innovative designers and manufacturers (Bombardier), world-renowned suppliers (Heroux Devtek), service leaders (CAE), as well as some of the world's top-performing airlines (Air Canada). Canada has also succeeded in attracting the world's largest players (Airbus, Pratt and Whitney, Safran, etc.).

Today, however, the aerospace industry is one of the hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis. The industry has leveraged innovation for decades to design a cabin environment that is safe for passengers and crew to breathe clean air throughout their journeys. The cabin air is renewed every two to three minutes and passes through extremely efficient filters that remove more than 99.9 per cent of particles.

Nevertheless, the airlines are facing drastically reduced passenger demand due to travel restrictions and health concerns. Airlines that can't fill their planes won't buy new ones, or new equipment and services. The impact is being felt throughout the industry, from the large players down to the many smaller companies that supply the thousands of components and services that go into building an aircraft and allowing it to fly safely.

The government's emergency measures available to all industries are appreciated and welcome, but they are not enough for airlines to cope with the lack of traffic. Remarkably, the Canadian government has not yet responded to the urgent calls for specific government assistance for Canada's airlines and its aerospace industry.

Other leading aerospace countries made the decision to offer such help early in the pandemic, including France ($23 billion in overall support), the United States ($80 billion to airlines) and many other countries around the globe, including Germany and the Netherlands. What they realized is that the aerospace sector is vital to future economic growth, as the world recovers from the pandemic.

Aerospace in Canada is not a small industry. It is the country's third-leading generator of exports. It employs 213,000 people directly and indirectly and contributes about $25 billion to Canada's GDP on an annual basis. The Montreal region aerospace hub is the third-largest in the world after only Seattle and Toulouse, the headquarters of Boeing and Airbus, respectively.

But the aerospace industry cannot thrive if its leading customers — the airlines — cannot buy its products and services. Help for Canadian airlines and the aerospace industry should therefore be a vital element of the Canadian government's stated goal to build the post-pandemic economy back better.

Because of the long history and success of the sector, Canada already has the infrastructure, such as specialized colleges and university programs, to provide the needed expertise to continue to be a world-leader in the field for years to come, and to be a leader in transforming the industry into one that's more environmentally friendly.

New technology from Canada's aerospace sector is already making aviation greener, such as the 25 per cent better fuel efficiency of the A220, which is one of the keys to its success, along with producing 25 per cent less carbon dioxide and 50 per cent less nitrogen oxides.

Innovation has been cited as a foundation for the economic future that Canadian governments want to build. Aerospace involves innovation at the highest level across many fields, involving new technologies, such as robotics and artificial intelligence.

Governments worldwide are supporting airlines and aerospace right now in this hour of unprecedented need. Canadians also deserve to continue to fly with pride on homegrown aircraft, thanks to an industry that allows their economy to take flight.