10 octobre 2018 | Local, Aérospatial

Jean Charest pilotera un plan pour l'industrie aérospatiale

CHRISTOPHER REYNOLDS
La Presse Canadienne
Montréal

L'industrie aérospatiale canadienne a mandaté l'ex-premier ministre du Québec Jean Charest de tracer une nouvelle voie pour assurer sa croissance.

Craignant de voir p'lir l'étoile du Canada dans son secteur, l'Association des industries aérospatiales du Canada a placé M. Charest aux commandes afin qu'il pilote un plan visant à obtenir du gouvernement fédéral des engagements financiers et une stratégie à long terme.

« L'industrie en est venue à la conclusion que nous devons en quelque sorte redéfinir l'avenir de l'industrie au Canada », a déclaré M. Charest en entrevue téléphonique depuis Paris.

« On a l'impression de vivre dans un monde où la concurrence est beaucoup plus forte. Ce n'est pas qu'on s'en tire mal, mais le monde évolue vraiment rapidement. »

Celui qui a dirigé le Québec de 2003 à 2012 a souligné le « rôle crucial » du gouvernement en matière de financement, de recherche et de formation pour l'aviation civile et militaire.

« L'administration Trump a décidé de créer une nouvelle division pour l'espace », a-t-il rappelé, évoquant la nouvelle branche militaire que le président surnomme la « Force spatiale ».

« Nous ne pouvons pas rester les bras croisés », estime Jean Charest.

Le président de l'association, Jim Quick, a souligné que le Canada ne suivait pas la croissance du secteur et de l'innovation par rapport à d'autres pays comme la France, l'Allemagne et les États-Unis, où des stratégies à long terme ont été mises en place.

La Grande-Bretagne cible 10 % du marché spatial mondial d'ici 12 ans, a indiqué M. Quick. Le Luxembourg a pour objectif l'exploration minière dans l'espace en allant extraire des métaux rares et précieux sur des astéroïdes.

L'aérospatiale est le secteur de fabrication qui compte le plus d'investissements liés à l'innovation au Canada avec plus de 1,8 milliard de dollars consacrés à la recherche et au développement en 2017, soit près du quart des dépenses totales, selon l'association.

Selon M. Quick, le nouveau projet, appelé Vision 2025, tentera de convaincre Ottawa d'inclure dans son budget de l'an prochain un plan à long terme pour l'aérospatiale, parallèlement à son engagement à fournir une robotique de pointe à la passerelle Lunar, décrite comme un bras canadien de troisième génération.

M. Charest dirigera des échanges entre des représentants du gouvernement et de l'industrie dans plusieurs villes, notamment Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver et Halifax, et supervisera la rédaction d'un rapport sur les priorités de l'aérospatiale.

L'ex-politicien, qui a aussi été ministre au fédéral, a indiqué qu'il souhaitait que le secteur continue à réussir « malgré les risques et l'incertitude à l'échelle mondiale ».

Les investissements du Canada dans le secteur aérospatial, exprimés en pourcentage du produit intérieur brut, ont reculé à la 18e place parmi les différents pays, alors qu'ils se classaient en huitième place en 1992, selon l'association. L'emploi dans le secteur de la fabrication a diminué de 5 % depuis 2012.

Le Canada mise sur la cinquième plus importante industrie aérospatiale du monde, fournissant près de 25 milliards à l'économie canadienne et près de 190 000 emplois en 2017, d'après les données de l'association.

https://www.lapresse.ca/affaires/economie/transports/201810/09/01-5199611-jean-charest-pilotera-un-plan-pour-lindustrie-aerospatiale.php

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