News
Minister of State participates in Alberta symposium
July 13, 2010, Calgary - The Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification, provided remarks on Monday at the Alberta Defence Industries Symposium and outlined the Government of Canada’s continued support for Western Canada’s aerospace and defence sector.
July 13, 2010 By Carey Fredericks
“Our Government is proud to support this important sector that strengthens our economy and creates jobs and opportunity in our communities,” said Minister Yelich.
Through the Government of Canada’s Industrial and Regional Benefits (IRB) policy, Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) is helping to facilitate industry opportunities for western Canadian firms. Activities include identifying key federal procurement opportunities for the West, as well as promoting western Canadian businesses and connecting them with global aerospace and defence companies.
“We are committed to strengthening the Western Canadian economy by securing high-quality IRBs and promoting partnerships that will create even more growth,” added Minister Yelich.
An example of our commitment would be WD’s previous investment towards the Canadian Centre for Unmanned Vehicle Systems in Medicine Hat, Alberta, which is leading to industry-wide benefits for small and medium-sized businesses. The Centre is a not-for-profit organization that is striving to be the design, development, testing, evaluating and commercialization hub for Canada’s unmanned vehicle systems industry.
Industrial and Regional Benefits consist of contracts awarded to Canadian companies and investments made in high-technology sectors of the Canadian economy by successful bidders on federal defence procurement projects.
