Business leaders talk defence opportunities
As Canada ramps up its military spending, opportunities arise for local businesses and industries, a roundtable discussion heard last week.
Twenty-four industry leaders, primarily from the St. Lawrence Corridor, gathered on Jan. 19 at Prescott Town Hall for an industry roundtable on economic opportunities at the federal level.
The local leaders met with the Jenna Sudds, Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Government Transformation, Procurement and Public Services, and Secretary of State for the Ministry of National Defence.
Hosted by David Beatty, chairman of Brockville-based Canarm, and Rhiannon Iles, President of HFI Pyrotechnics, located north of Prescott, the event brought together key stakeholders from industry, education, and job training services, organizers said.
The roundtable’s primary objective was to review opportunities arising from the “Carney Blueprint for Economic Growth and Defence,” specifically examining how local sectors can engage in, and realign business practices with, the government’s stated priorities.
“We could exchange, first hand, the opportunities and the challenges that lie ahead to leverage existing and forge new business practices,” said Sudds, the Liberal MP for Kanata, in a prepared statement. “These sessions are timely and needed.”
Organizers said the roundtable discussions touched on three main points, starting with the “Buy Canada Policy,” where Sudds outlined the new policy and the specific opportunities it creates for domestic industry.
They also discussed defence and dual-use technology. With Canada committing to its NATO spending targets, the roundtable explored strategic opportunities for industry within the defence sector.
Lastly, the topic of government support programs was talked through, where attendees were briefed on programs available through FedDev Ontario, particularly those introduced to support businesses affected by recent tariffs.
The session also included a dedicated question period facilitated by Beatty and Iles, allowing participants to address specific concerns regarding government engagement processes.
The event emphasized the critical link between industry readiness, educational alignment, and job training services in meeting the demands of these new federal initiatives, said organizers.
“Thank you for taking the time to discuss how Canada’s evolving economic and defence priorities can unlock new opportunities for industry-service open investments, jobs and regional growth, particularly for us SMEs,” said 401 Electric president Barry Moss, as quoted by event organizers. “We ended the session with a number of concrete next steps.”
Iles, one of the event’s organizers, says the roundtable was a success and she hopes to host another one in the future, potentially dealing with international trade.
“The roundtable generated a lot of energy for our company, HFI, to see what’s available and where we can leverage businesses and services locally,” she said in a statement of her own. “We want to have more of these, because we’ve heard loud and clear from our political contacts that getting MPs to the region to see what’s here is one of the best ways to influence engagement and increase visibility.”
https://www.recorder.ca/news/business-leaders-talk-defence-opportunities
