Many people in Quebec are upset that our provincial police (Sûreté du Québec) did not buy a helicopter from Bell Textron of Mirabel, even more so for not going through a bidding. Some argue that “made in Quebec” should prevail, especially when Bell/Textron is about to lay off 75 of its 1,200 workers in Mirabel due to the slowdown in sales.
On top of that, Patricia Bergeron, the communication manager of Bell/Textron of Mirabel, argues that the solution offered by Bell/Textron would have been more affordable than the purchase of a rival aircraft. Mrs. Bergeron pressed further by stating that the purchase of a non-usual helicopter in the force will require additional training and the need to acquire new tools to service.
Okay, she is somewhat right with those points, but not completely right and wrong in regards to my following arguments.
First, it is one helicopter and nobody on this planet is going to argue that an entire business composed of at least 1200 workers will suffer for one helicopter bought elsewhere. If this was a case of a huge order, say 10 helicopters, than I would argue in favor of the jobs here in Quebec. However, for one helicopter, please, get the heck out of here with your argument of jeopardizing jobs.
Second, Mrs. Bergeron might be a sellout to U.S conglomerates, but I am not. Thus, for me buying European is actually a good thing, especially while Donald Trump is in power. Let us not forget, Donald Trump imposed so many tariffs on our brute products that we lost much more than 75 jobs. Therefore, until Donald Trump is in power, buying European is a better choice as a mean of retaliation. He wants to play hardball, bring it on.
Third, the argument that new tooling and further training is required with the purchase of a new aircraft is an old trick that ALL companies love to uphold. Boeing, Airbus and others are predisposed to lay that prospect to its existing clients, it is nothing new. However, I greatly believe it is wrong to cling to one manufacturer because relaying on one manufacturer has its caveats. For example, imagine a company with a fleet of only Boeing 737 MAX’s. With the Boeing 737 MAX groundings, what do you think the chances of survival is for this company using only 737 MAX’s? Almost none because they have no other aircraft to immediately alleviate their grounded planes, thus total cease of operations for the company. On the other hand, a fleet composed of two or more models is a better choice in my opinion. Moreover, I will argue that the additional expertise that the mechanics will acquire with additional products is a plus and the added tooling is further assets a company possess.
Fourth, Mrs. Bergeron can talk all day long about how cheaper their BELL helicopter would have been, but I doubt she would mention the Airbus H145, developed by Eurocopter and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, is superior to any of the BELL’s offerings regarding the type of helicopter the SQ police might consider.