The Quebec Liberals believe that the Minister of the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, should prepare to withdraw “his balls” from the Flying Whales airships project.
• Read also: Flying Whales: Ottawa fears China will spy
We are talking about airships for transporting equipment to remote regions, especially for the mining industry.
MP Carlos Leitao said that the financial involvement of a Chinese partner greatly reduces the chances that the project will obtain the necessary authorizations from the federal government to move forward.
Photo d’archives, Simon Clark
Liberal MP Carlos Leitao fears the risk of industrial espionage.
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According to the Liberal MP, spokesperson for economic files, Mr. Fitzgibbon should even prepare to be refused by the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISDEC).
“He should work very hard with the department’s lawyers and perhaps other lawyers to see if he can recover his logs,” he said in an interview with our investigation office.
Leitao says Fitzgibbon should have waited for all the green lights from the federal government before disbursing a $ 30 million investment in Flying Whales. “It is a bit much in trouble, because the money has already been invested,” he said.
Our Investigation Bureau reported on Monday that the Quebec subsidiary of Flying Whales has been waiting for months for authorization from Ottawa to start its activities.
The presence of the Chinese aeronautical giant AVIC among the shareholders of the parent company of Flying Whales raises fears for national security in Canada.
Spying
Mr. Leitao believes that the involvement of AVIC exposes the Quebec subsidiary to the risk of industrial espionage.
“AVIC has a history and a reputation as an instrument of the Chinese state, including the Chinese military. The challenges of industrial espionage are very real. ”
In the context of trade tensions between the United States and China, and their repercussions in Canada, Mr. Leitao believes that it is unlikely that Ottawa will authorize the Flying Whales project.
“This project may not go ahead,” he said. The government [du Québec] should find a way out of this. “
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