FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FEBRUARY 15, 2012

NDP URGES OTTAWA TO KEEP INVESTING IN AEROSPACE

Conservatives must maintain R&D funding to industry employing tens of thousands of Canadians

OTTAWA –  With the next Conservative budget looming, NDP leader Nycole Turmel called on the federal government to protect the research and development support programs that Canada’s aerospace industry relies on.

Turmel said her Official Opposition New Democrats will fight to protect the aerospace industry, which generates tens of thousands of jobs, mainly in Quebec, from reckless Conservative cuts and misguided choices.

“Canada’s aerospace industry employs 40,000 people in Quebec, with annual revenues of $12-billion, making it the world’s fifth largest. This sector exports no less than 80 percent of its production and generates enormous wealth for this country. This profitable industry need to be protected,” said Turmel.

Turmel stressed that the Official Opposition will not allow the Conservatives to blindly slash research and development programs. She also underlined her support for industry leaders’ calls for more funding for R&D.

“The Conservatives’ disastrous economic record doesn’t give them the right to slash hugely successful industries like aerospace. We won’t let them,” concluded Hélène LeBlanc, NDP critic for Science and Technology.

-30-