Yves Boisvert is a columnist for La Presse.
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It's not easy being Bombardier. Attacks against the company come from everywhere these days, from abroad as well as from inside Canada, inside and outside Quebec, from the neoliberal right and the progressive left.
Last week, a group of social housing activists occupied the company's headquarters in Montreal. If the provincial government can find $1-billion (U.S.) to invest in the C Series jet program, the protesters argued, it should be able to find enough money to fund public housing.
It doesn't matter that the line sounds very much like a sophism, it's quite successful all the same. The news last fall of the province's investment in the C Series division came after two years of government austerity to balance the budget. Schools in many parts of Quebec are notoriously ill-maintained, the number of resource specialists for kids has been reduced, universities cry for more money, and every ministry has been scaled down. So even if the Bombardier money was described as an "investment," just the amount was shocking.
Premier Philippe Couillard's government was criticized by the opposition for the way it invested, without seeking any guarantees from Bombardier. Parti Québécois Leader Pierre Karl Péladeau is finally in his comfort zone, talking business; the government negotiated the deal like a bunch of "pee-wees," he said. Coalition Avenir Québec's François Legault, himself a former executive at Air Transat, joined Mr. Péladeau in denouncing the way the investment was done. (In contrast, Michael Sabia, chief executive officer of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Quebec's public pension fund, oversaw the investment of $1.5-billion into Bombardier last November – for a 30-per-cent stake in its profitable rail division.)
Since then, when it comes to Bombardier's C Series program, it seems economists and commentators from every corner of Canada have joined in a chorus singing "let it fail."
So it must have been a bit comforting for Bombardier to see Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne hand-in-hand with Mr. Couillard last week, supporting the call for federal money for the company. It also helped Mr. Couillard to show this as a "Canadian" project, not a Quebec demand.
Many in Quebec feel the C Series program deserves some help at a critical moment, just as the Ontario auto industry got more than $10-billion from Ottawa during the last recession (the "let it fail" crowd was proved wrong with that bailout). In 2014, the federal government flagged another $500-million (Canadian) for research and development in the auto industry.
The C Series is the "probably the most important innovative project in Canada," Mr. Couillard argued last week. No question that the aircraft is a technological beauty; quieter, more energy efficient, the fruit of high-level engineering research. To be sure, there have been delays in getting into service, but the C Series has finally been certified and the first planes are to be delivered to Swiss International Airlines next summer. And although orders are not as had been hoped, the jet market is said to be on an upswing, thanks to Asian companies.
Do we really want to let down one of the few truly Canadian high-tech industrial companies, one that sells essentially to foreign markets? Do we want to do that now? If Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is true to his word that "what it takes to grow and prosper isn't just what's under our feet, it's what between our ears," then helping Bombardier should be at the top of his agenda.