The Honourable Stephen Fuhr Secretary of State (Defence Procurement)
Good morning everyone.
It is a great pleasure to be here with you today.
I'd like to begin by acknowledging that we are gathered today on the traditional and unceded territory where we meet.
It's a pleasure to be back in Abbotsford.
I've been coming to this airshow since I was a kid,
First with my grandfather.
Later as an aviation student just down the road.
Then as a military pilot.
As the Member of Parliament.
And now as Secretary of State for Defence Procurement.
I've been fortunate to attend defence and aerospace exhibitions around the world.
But coming to Abbotsford always feels like coming home.
There are a lot of familiar faces in this room, and it's always a pleasure to be here.
People often think defence procurement is just about buying equipment.
It's much more than that.
It's about managing an entire lifecycle.
Every stage of that lifecycle presents an opportunity to create value for Canadians.
Of course, our first responsibility is to deliver capability to the Canadian Armed Forces.
But wherever we can, we should also be creating opportunities for Canadian industry, Canadian workers, and good value for Canadian taxpayers.
To achieve this, we're doing things differently.
We're moving faster.
We're engaging industry earlier and more meaningfully.
We're making decisions at the speed required to meet today's security environment.
That includes, where we can, ensuring valuable public assets continue delivering value long after their military service has ended.
Today's announcement is an excellent example.
Today, I'm pleased to announce the conditional sale of ten surplus CC-130H Hercules aircraft to Coulson Aviation for conversion into aerial firefighting aircraft.
Coulson Aviation is a Canadian, family-owned company headquartered in Port Alberni, British Columbia.
For more than 60 years, they have grown into one of the world's premier aerial firefighting companies, supporting wildfire operations across North America, Australia and South America.
Their in-house engineering, aircraft modification, manufacturing, maintenance and flight operations have earned them a global reputation for innovation and excellence.
They are exceptionally well positioned to give these Hercules aircraft a second career protecting communities from wildfire.
Given the capability of these aircraft and their considerable remaining service life, there was significant interest in acquiring them.
Offers were evaluated on:
- Proposed end use.
- Alignment with the public interest.
- Logistics.
- Custodial cost efficiencies.
- Compliance with applicable regulations.
- Best overall value to Canada.
That rigorous evaluation process led to the selection of Coulson Aviation.
The conversion work will be led from Coulson Aviation's facilities in Port Alberni, British Columbia.
Each aircraft will require approximately 20,000 labour hours to be converted into a large air tanker equipped with Coulson's proprietary Retardant Aerial Delivery System (RADS).
As demand and production schedules require, Coulson expects to draw on the strength of British Columbia's aerospace sector, including long-standing industry partners such as Cascade Aerospace and Kelowna Flightcraft.
This project has the potential to support highly skilled aerospace jobs across British Columbia while helping deliver aircraft that are urgently needed for aerial firefighting.
And when that work is complete, these Hercules aircraft will begin a second career in a role that is increasingly important in Canada and around the world.
Today's announcement is about more than the divestiture of surplus aircraft.
It's about extending the value of an investment Canadians have already made.
It's about supporting Canadian industry.
It's about making smart use of public assets.
And it's about ensuring these remarkable aircraft continue serving people for years to come.
Before I conclude, I'd like to recognize my colleague, MP Gord Johns, Member of Parliament for Courtenay-Alberni.
Gord has been a relentless advocate for Coulson Aviation, for the people of Port Alberni, and for strengthening Canada's aerial firefighting capability. He helped ensure the value of this opportunity was well understood, and I want to sincerely thank him for his advocacy.
Thank you.
