The Québec Aeronautical Industry Development Strategy specifies the role the government intends to play in the coming years in the development of the aeronautical industry. It is directly in keeping with the Québec economic development strategy set forth in The Québec Advantage (french only).

This strategy relies on the mobilization of stakeholders in the aerospace industrial cluster. It depends on Québec's numerous competitive advantages in the aeronautical sector, including skilled workers, research and development, the expertise of prime contractors, equipment manufacturers and a network of some 220 SMEs, and the quality of its educational institutions.

The strategy in a nutshell

Below is a summary of the objectives and concrete means that the Québec government is proposing to support the Québec aeronautical industry. The measures centre on five key initiatives:

1. Support prime contractors and equipment manufacturers

To ensure the worldwide leadership of Québec prime contractors and equipment manufacturers and foster the design and manufacture of new products in Québec, the government will:

• provide financing geared to prime contractors and equipment manufacturers, in keeping with rules governing international trade and in collaboration with the federal government:
  
  
  • financing of R&D and product development by means of loans repayable through royalties on sales;
  • competitive support to finance sales;
  • financing of developmental projects in the form of share capital by the Société générale de financement (SGF).

To increase the number of equipment manufacturers operating in Québec and broaden the Québec content in prime contractors' projects, the government will:

• emphasize exploration for new equipment manufacturers in Québec:
  
  
  • accentuate and coordinate the initiatives of public partners active in promotion and business development (MFE, Investissement Québec, Montréal International, Société générale de financement, and so on).

2. Support the development of Québec SMEs

To enable Québec SMEs to benefit more extensively from spinoff from major projects, it is essential to encourage:

• subcontractors to obtain resources that allow them to develop their ability to assemble and integrate complex sub-assemblies;
  
  
• the suppliers of products to elaborate more complex, diversified products;
  
  
• the suppliers of specialized services to broaden their range of services;
  
  
• SMEs engaged in complementary operations to group together to develop products.

To support SMEs, the government will:

• modify the rules governing MFE programs in order to:
  
  
  • make eligible product development projects that cost between $500 000 and $2 million;
  • make eligible investment projects that cost between $2 million and $5 million;
  • allow the budgetary impact of assistance granted in the case of product development projects submitted by a group of two or more enterprises and aimed at satisfying demand from a major prime contractor to reach a maximum of 30% of eligible expenditures, and 25% in the case of such projects submitted by a single firm;
  • offer maximum assistance of up to 25% in the case of projects submitted by a group of two or more enterprises and aimed at creating in such enterprises integration capacity, and 15% in the case of projects submitted by a single firm.

It is important for equipment manufacturers to renew their production facilities and tools and they can thus benefit from the first two measures.

• support the efforts of the Québec Aerospace Association (Association québécoise de l'aérospatiale - AQA) in its attempts to heighten awareness of the consolidation of SMEs;
  
  
• assign to the SGF a mandate to act proactively to encourage the establishment of business combinations.

To help SMEs that supply products to take advantage of business opportunities offered by local and foreign prime contractors and equipment manufacturers, the government will:

• facilitate the establishment of partnerships between SMEs and foreign firms through foreign trade missions and participation in major air shows (Le Bourget and Farnborough);
  
  
• set up, in collaboration with the AQA, a task force to:
  
  
  • establish close ties with the purchasing agents of local and foreign prime contractors and equipment manufacturers in order to ascertain their needs and changes in their purchasing policies;
  • pinpoint new foreign partners who might carry out contracts with Québec enterprises;
  • organize missions to search for partners and to develop ties between Québec SMEs and foreign prime contractors and equipment manufacturers;
  • increase the financial support offered to SMEs to enable them to expand on external markets;
  • inform SMEs about new business processes in the worldwide aeronautical industry.

3. Maintain a pool of qualified workers

To enable Québec to meet growing needs for specialized workers in the aeronautical sector, the government will:

• maintain support for educational institutions and the Comité sectoriel de la main-d'oeuvre en aérospatiale - french version only (CAMAQ);
  
  
• promote in Québec firms the foreign researcher and expert visa program;
  
  
• heighten awareness among young Quebecers of opportunities for the well-paid, diversified jobs offered by the industry.

4. Support innovation and productivity

We must broaden the synergy between big firms and research centres and educational institutions. To this end, the government will:

• participate in the long-term funding of the Consortium for Research and Innovation in Aerospace in Québec (Consortium de recherche et d'innovation en aérospatiale au Québec - CRIAQ) in respect of university-based R&D projects;
  
  
• encourage CRIAQ to involve SMEs more extensively in its operations;
  
  
• pursue its financial support for the Centre technologique en aérospatiale - french version only (CTA) so that the latter can support the technological development of SMEs in the sector;
  
  
• maintain fiscal measures pertaining to precompetitive research;
  
  
• support the modernization and purchase of leading-edge equipment (amendment of rules governing MFEQ programs).

5. Strengthen the partnership with the federal government

The federal government plays an essential support role in the Québec aeronautical industry. The Québec government will approach the federal government to ensure that Ottawa continues to do so, more specifically by:

• financing product development;
  
  
• participating in the financing of aircraft sales;
  
  
• awarding a fair share of defence and security contracts to Québec firms when possible and by ensuring that contracts executed abroad engender the maximum direct and indirect spinoff in Québec.

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