Manitoba government, business leaders speak out against Bill C-10

Manitoba's government and business leaders are lining up to voice concerns about Bill C-10, the federal government bill that would free Air Canada from having to keep aircraft maintenance operations in Winnipeg.

Premier Brian Pallister, deputy premier Heather Stefanson and Training Minister Ian Wishart were joined on Tuesday by officials with the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, the Business Council of Manitoba, Winnipeg Airports Authority and other industry groups in calling upon federal politicians to make sure Manitoba's aerospace sector is not weakened.

Pallister said changes being eyed by the federal government could cost the province a lot of aerospace jobs.

"Anytime I see an erosion of jobs in Manitoba, clearly I'm not happy," he told reporters.

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Tuesday's news conference marked the premier's first public appearance this week. Pallister raised eyebrows on Monday for not attending a vigil outside the Manitoba Legislative Building to remember victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting.

Pallister told reporters he took the day off to deal with a summer cold.

"I was sick — I wasn't in Costa Rica," he said, referring to an election campaign controversy over the number of days he's spent in the Central American country.

Province wants training, skills commitments

Bill C-10 is the Liberal government's legislation to amend the Air Canada Public Participation Act. It proposes lifting a long-standing requirement that Air Canada keep its maintenance operations within the cities of Winnipeg, Montreal and Mississauga, Ont.

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The new legislation would instead allow the airline to locate those operations anywhere in the provinces of Manitoba, Quebec and Ontario.

Critics argue that while the bill requires the airline to keep maintenance operations in the three provinces, it could allow Air Canada to ship some work to other provinces and countries as well.

Pallister and other leaders said with Manitoba's aerospace hub being one of the largest in Canada, they expect firm commitments from the federal government on training and skills development, as well as compensation for any loss of jobs at Air Canada maintenance facilities.

"We are calling on the federal government to follow through on the promise it made to invest in training and skills development in the aerospace sector," Wishart said in a government news release.

"Urgent consideration of federal investments in training, innovation and job creation should include, but not be limited to, permanent jobs in Manitoba supporting the overhaul and maintenance of aircraft."

Manitoba MLAs recently voted unanimously to support a government motion opposing Bill C-10.

At the federal level, Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia-Headingley Liberal MP Doug Eyolfson recently broke ranks within his party and voted against Bill C-10.​

Earlier this year, Air Canada announced it's entering into an aircraft maintenance agreement with Manitoba that would create at least 150 jobs in the province.

The agreement would help Air Canada avoid legal action related to the closure of Aveos Fleet Performance in 2012 after the airline pulled its maintenance work from the company.

Fighter jet plan panned

The government and business leaders also raised concerns about the federal government's potential untendered purchase of Boeing Super Hornet fighter jets instead of Lockheed-Martin F-35s.

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Pallister and others said Manitoba companies have already planned for the F-35 purchase, and any move away from that should be open for bidding from all companies.

"Cancellation of defence projects in the past have had a significant and damaging impact on the industry, both in terms of lost investment and eliminated jobs," Don Leitch, president and CEO of the Business Council of Manitoba, said in the news release.

Don Boitson, vice-president of North American operations with Magellan Aerospace Ltd., said the company — which manufactures parts of the tail assembly for the F-35s — has invested $65 million in upgrades to its Winnipeg facility as part of the F-35 development plan.

A decision by Ottawa to change direction on the fighter jet program could have serious implications for Magellan and its investments in the Manitoba capital, Boitson warned.