The top Canadian official probing a request by planemaker Bombardier Inc for aid to support its new CSeries passenger jet on Monday indicated for the first time that Ottawa actively wanted to help the company, highlighting the number of jobs it provides.

Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains until now has said merely that the Liberal government would closely examine Bombardier’s request for $1 billion in aid and outlined some of the concessions he wants in return.

But on Monday he went notably further, detailing how much help Ottawa had given the company over the last 40 years and stressing the number of aerospace jobs across Canada that depended on Bombardier continuing to operate.

“We’ve been there with the company in the past, we’ve continued to remain engaged with the company and we want to be part of a solution going forward,” he told reporters. The CSeries is years late and billions of dollars over budget.

The government has previously said it wants assurances on jobs, investment in research and the location of Bombardier’s headquarters, which are in the predominantly French-speaking province of Quebec.

Noting that Bombardier has 950 suppliers across Canada, Bains added: “This is not simply a Quebec issue. This is a Canadian issue. This is a strong Canadian brand. We believe in it.”

SOURCE REUTERS, Read more..