MONTREAL -
Parti Quebecois Leader Andre Boisclair is accusing the federal government of making an "anti-Quebec'' decision by not guaranteeing the province the majority of work on the $3.4-billion Boeing contract.
The first Canadian C-17 is expected to arrive by the end of August, with a second of the giant transport planes by the end of the year and the last two coming in the middle of next year.
Under normal conditions, it would take years to build the Canadian order but the American airforce let Canada jump the queue.
"Ottawa makes anti-Quebec decisions and doesn't have the courage, again, today to recognize the specificity of the Quebec (aerospace) industry,'' Boisclair told a news conference on Tuesday.
Boisclair met with union leaders from Quebec's aerospace industry.
"The federal government has never been shy about protecting Ontario's automobile industry. I don't see why it doesn't do the same thing in Quebec's case. It's one of the jewels of Quebec's economy,'' the PQ leader said.
The multibillion-dollar contract -- $1.8 billion for the planes and $1.6 billion for 20 years of spares and maintenance -- is expected to be a windfall for Canadian industry. The Bloc Quebecois has said Quebec should get most of the contract based on the size of its aerospace industry.
Public Works Minister Michael Fortier and Industry Minister Maxime Bernier have said Boeing and Pratt and Whitney, maker of the plane's engines, have agreed to invest the face value of the contract in Canada and the benefits will boost defence and aerospace firms across the country. Neither minister has offered any regional breakdown of the benefits, saying Boeing will be announcing a number of deals in the coming weeks.
The new planes will be based at CFB Trenton, home to most of the military's transport fleet. Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor has said there will be "substantial'' investment in new infrastructure there -- hangars and other buildings -- to handle the mammoth aircraft.
The purchase of the heavy-lift planes fulfils a promise the Conservatives made in the last election campaign.
Luc Desnoyers, head of the Quebec wing of the Canadian Auto Workers union, said he's worried about thousands of aerospace jobs in the province if the industry isn't better supported.
With a coming provincial election, Desnoyers didn't hide his enthusiasm for Boisclair.
Desnoyers said his union has "traditionally'' supported the Parti Quebecois and supports a sovereign Quebec.
Liberal premier Jean Charest is expected to call an election within days for a vote at the end of March. Charest's Liberals were elected in April 2003.
