Govt of Quebec asks Govt of Canada to match its USD 1bn investment in Bombardier's CSeries jet program
The Government of Quebec wants to see the Government of Canada match its USD 1bn investment in Montreal, Quebec-based Bombardier, reported The Globe and Mail on 31 October..
A report from the newspaper's News section, which noted that the request represents a tall order for Ottawa, cited Industry Canada spokesperson Derek Mellon as saying that from 1966 to the current date, the Canadian company has paid back USD 543m of the USD 1.3bn it has received.
The report also cited Jacques Daoust, Quebec's economy minister, as informing Bloomberg on Friday that the provincial government intends to ask Ottawa to match the USD 1bn it promised to make in Bombardier's CSeries jet program. Daoust said that if Ottawa also makes a USD 1bn investment, the "financing package" for the CSeries jet program "would be complete." He added that he would phone the new industry minister appointed by the Justin Trudeau government as soon as the incoming prime minister appoints a cabinet.
According to the report from The Globe and Mail, a spokesperson representing Trudeau, whose Liberal Party won the recent federal election in Canada, the party is carefully watching the Bombardier situation and will, after it is sworn in on 4 November, determine whether or not to provide assistance.
Meanwhile, David Provencher, an assistant to Daust, said in the report that the province is open to bringing aboard an additional partner to help with the CSeries jet program. He added that the province will assist Bombardier in finding any possible partner that can exert a "positive influence."
The Globe and Mail