Government Deems Most Small Biz Non-Essential-But Training Foreign Pilots in London, Ontario ESSENTIAL

“I talk to my buddies, I know what happens. You know, they pick up another buddy, two or three, they go golfing, and there’s nothing wrong with golfing, the problem is the mobility. Then after the golf they go back, they have a few pops, that’s the problem. That’s the issue.”

“Selected Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) pilots and engineers will undergo periodic training at ITPS, the only fully accredited and internationally recognized school of flight testing in Canada. (Wings) “ITPS is one of only four European Aviation Safety Agency-approved flight test training organizations for both fixed- and rotary-wing test pilots. “We are delighted that the RCAF joins the growing number of NATO and industry customers that choose ITPS as a training provider for their flight test crews,” said Giorgio Clementi, president, ITPS. “Test pilots and flight test engineers will receive world-class training from our expert instructors.”

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“…Freeland said that when coupled with natural resources, green energy, and other sectors, the export-heavy aerospace sector would be critical to “our new, resilient, and sustainable economy.” “Details buried on page 135 of the 724-page main budget document show that aerospace, as “one of the most research-intensive manufacturing industries,” contributed more than $28 billion to Canada’s GDP directly and indirectly in 2019, supporting 234,500 jobs. “But as it is “highly dependent on purchases from airlines hit hard by the pandemic, the sector is facing reduced demand and a longer path to recovery, relative to other sectors,” the document says. “To help position Canada’s aerospace sector once restrictions on travel are lifted and the industry begins to recover, Budget 2021 proposes to provide $250 million over three years, on a cash basis, starting in 2021-22, for the regional development agencies to deliver an Aerospace Regional Recovery Initiative.” This would support productivity improvements, strengthened commercialization, and continued “greening” of operations and products.”

“Further in, on page 488, the government highlights gender imbalance in the aerospace sector, pointing out that women account for only 21 percent of the manufacturing workforce and 24 percent in maintenance, repair, and overhaul. “Higher paying engineering and assembly jobs are largely held by men (90 percent),” the document adds. “As aerospace wages are considerably higher than the economy-wide average, increasing women’s employment in the sector could contribute to higher income jobs for women.”(Skies) “Accordingly, its Aerospace Regional Recovery Initiative would prioritize support for “inclusive businesses that are operated by and employ underrepresented groups, including women, Indigenous people, Black, and other racialized people and youth.” “Military aerospace also will get a boost. Starting on page 289 of the budget document is a commitment of $163.4 million over the next five years — including $111.1 million in remaining amortized payments — to support modernization of the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD). “This affords contract opportunities for Canadian companies. “The threats facing the continent have evolved significantly,” the document states. This includes the already evident impact of climate change on defense planning and strategies. “The budget document indicates that the ratio of debt to GDP should slide to 49.2 percent by 2025-2026 as the deficit slips to 1.1 percent of GDP; that would be lower than forecast at the end of 2019 as COVID-19 was beginning to have an impact. 

“Even so, Freeland conceded that there are limits to the government’s borrowing capacity. “The world will not write Canada any blank cheques,” she said. “We don’t expect any.” “The Finance Department said in a statement that when the COVID-19 pandemic began erupting, Canada was fiscally strong. That facilitated Freeland’s announcement in last November‘s Fall Economic Statement that the government would invest up to $100 billion over three years to support an economic rebound. “At the time, a 2020-2021 deficit of $381.6 billion was forecast. “We’ve spent less than we provisioned for,” Freeland said minutes after arriving in the Commons with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “Our deficit for 2020-2021 is $354.2 billion, significantly below our forecast.”

"The government’s top priority is beating COVID-19 as the virus continues to emerge in waves across the country, but it also plans to give individuals and industries “the support they need . . . to come roaring back when the economy fully reopens” — after what the Finance Department said has been “the steepest and fastest economic contraction since the Great Depression” nearly a century ago. "On the environmental front, where aviation and aerospace have been developing cleaner and increasingly efficient technologies for some years, the budget is described by the Finance Department as “a plan for a green recovery that fights climate change” — as the government moves toward “net zero” emissions by 2050. "A key element of this program is what Freeland called an “historic investment” of an additional $5 billion in a Net Zero Accelerator over the next seven years. “This added support . . . will help even more companies invest to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions while growing their businesses,” she said. “We will propel the green transition through new tax measures, including for zero emissions technology, carbon capture and storage, and green hydrogen.” "The projected costs of the government’s ambitious agenda are huge, but Freeland told Parliament that the investments are critical to “healing the wounds left by the COVID-19 recession. . . . It’s about creating more jobs and prosperity for Canadians in the days — and decades — to come.” 

• PM Justin Trudeau, who identifies as both a Liberal and a “feminist”;
• Ontario Premier Doug Ford who bases his lockdown theories on his ‘pop’-drinking golfing buddies, and
• Toronto Mayor John Tory who could give New York Mayor Bill de Blasio a good run for his money.

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