Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. It's great to be back.

Aerospace by its nature is a highly competitive field. It is also a critical and strategic industry for Canada, fuelling innovation and economic growth and supporting well-paying, family-sustaining jobs right across the country.

Canada's aerospace industry is already a major engine of the economy, contributing over $29 billion to our GDP and exporting $19 billion. Right now, more than 200,000 hard-working Canadians across this country rely on aerospace to support their families.

Like any competitive field, aerospace requires smart and supportive public policy to survive. Without supportive and strategic public policies, we'd likely have no automotive sector, many of our natural resources would remain untapped, and we'd have no railways to move our manufacturers' goods, minerals and grains to market.

Just as strategic policies have enabled these sectors to thrive, an aerospace industrial strategy for Canada will help us reach new heights in this country. However, without political leadership and supportive policy, our aerospace industry risks losing ground on both the domestic and international stage.

Despite its strategic importance for Canada, our aerospace sector is at a crossroads, facing opportunities for growth but also significant policy challenges. This includes a tax on aerospace manufacturing that is killing jobs and the domestic market for our industry.

For three years, I've been before this committee to raise concerns about the potential impacts of this tax. While it was introduced with the intent of collecting revenue, the reality is that it's a job-killing manufacturing tax that's damaging both our sector and the economy while undermining Canada's international reputation.

Despite multiple assessments, reports and warnings, the facts are now clear. By the government's own account, the luxury tax has cost taxpayers $19 million to administer. By the government's own account, only $15 million has been collected related to aircraft. Industry estimates that it has lost over $1.8 billion in sales. According to a report from Professor Roy, those sales would have generated potentially $90 million in GST revenue for the government.

Most troubling, according to the government's own finance department, jobs will be lost, and according to our estimates, this tax is putting nearly 4,000 well-paying aerospace jobs at risk across Canada.

The facts are clear. Government is bringing in $15 million on the backs of industry and its workers. It costs them $19 million to administer, and they're losing GST revenue to the potential tune of $90 million, not to mention the nearly 4,000 Canadian workers and families this tax puts at risk, which is why unions—and I know you've heard from them before—representing aerospace workers are also in favour of repealing this tax on manufacturing, specific to aircraft.

I am here before you again today urging this committee and all parties to reconsider the implications of this tax and to take immediate action to repeal it to safeguard the aerospace sector and protect the thousands of Canadians who depend on it.

This brings me to the opportunities that an aerospace industrial strategy for Canada will bring. Minister Champagne recently announced the government's commitment to develop an industry aerospace strategy for Canada. Recognizing that aerospace is strategic for Canada, I think, is a non-partisan issue. We are calling on all parties to support an aerospace industrial strategy.

With forecasts projecting the need for 40,000 new aircraft in the coming decades, a strategy can potentially—just with a small number of things—do the following. It can enhance defence and national security by addressing procurement delays and identifying key capabilities, enabling Canada to meet its defence commitments and operationalize and institutionalize the goals of the recently released DPU. By prioritizing Transport Canada certification, sustainable aviation fuels and programs like SR and ED, innovation can thrive, while reducing the industry's carbon footprint, and be able to compete globally.

Because of the political leadership shown in the past, we are one of a few select countries that can design, build and certify an aircraft from nose to tail. We cannot let this ability slip away. It must be supported and funded properly. This committee has the ability to shine a light on this, and we should not cede this ability to other competitor nations.

A strategy should also address labour market challenges and help industry create well-paying, family-sustaining jobs, helping to build a robust talent pipeline, now and for the future.

In closing, we urgently need to repeal the harmful job-killing tax on aerospace manufacturing as well as develop and adopt an aerospace industrial strategy for Canada. It cannot be overstated that these should be supported by all parties. They should be economic priorities that will shape the future of our country for the better.

Thank you.