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PM welcomes Kongsberg investment in London
25 March 2010
London, Ontario
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERYGood morning. First of all, thank you, Tony Clement, for that kind introduction. Tony is Canada’s Minister of Industry and he’s worked very hard for this and for many similar type events across the country, so congratulations, Tony, and thank you for the great job you’re doing on behalf of Canadians.
I also want to welcome my colleagues who are here today, the Member of Parliament for Elgin-Middlesex-London, Joe Preston; and the Member of Parliament for London West, Ed Holder. Now, I must tell you, ladies and gentlemen, that Ed does great work for his riding, for this city, and he does great work for our government in the House and on Parliamentary committees, for international trade and government operations. Also, welcome to her Worship, Mayor Anne Marie DiCicco-Best, here with us today. Thank you to our guest of honour, the president of Kongsberg, Egil Haugsdal, who has come from Norway to tell us in detail about his company’s plans. So thank you for being here, and thank you also to Peter White for getting us started today.
We’re here today to welcome to Ontario a company that is in fact no stranger to Canada. Through its subsidiary, Kongsberg Maritime, Norway’s Kongsberg Gruppen has already established a significant Canadian presence in British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Today it is a great pleasure to be here and for all of us to welcome Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace as the group expands into a fourth province, having chosen London as the site of its newest manufacturing operation.
There are some important reasons why we are so delighted to welcome Kongsberg to London, including some of the great products it makes, which I’m going to talk about a little bit later, but as you know, our government’s number one priority is growth and jobs. Kongsberg will bring both to this city. In particular, it brings the kind of knowledge-intensive jobs on which the economy of the future will be built. As you know, in Budget 2010, we committed more than $600 million to help develop and attract talented people to strengthen our capacity for world-leading research and development and to improve the commercialization of scientific innovation. We did this because we recognize that in tomorrow’s world, we face new and aggressive challenges. As her Excellency the Governor General said in the Speech from the Throne, and I quote, "The relentless pace of technology means that every day there is something newer, faster, better. To succeed in the global economy, Canada must keep step as the world races forward." We could have been talking about the work that Kongsberg will be doing right here, right down to the research and development that will accompany the new production line. Those who know best how to do that work will lead us into the economy of the future.
Let me also say this: there is enormous worldwide competition to attract companies such as Kongsberg, but it is no accident that Kongsberg chose Canada. Rather, it is the logical outcome of the investment-attracting strategy our government has followed since it took office more than four years ago. Our goal was ambitious, but attainable. We wanted Canada to be known as the best place on Earth to live, to work and to invest. That’s why we have cut the corporate tax rate from 22 percent to 18 percent, and it’s why we remain on track to reduce it to 15 percent by 2012. With parallel moves by our provinces, Canada will have the lowest overall tax rate on new business investment among G7 countries this year, and by 2012, Canada will also have the lowest statutory income tax rates among the G7 countries.
It’s also why our government is committed to encouraging new ideas and to protecting the fruits of Canadian genius by strengthening laws governing intellectual property and copyright. Kongsberg means to register their intellectual property in Canada, and will therefore receive the protection our laws will afford.
Ladies and gentlemen, whether it is the rollout of our economic action plan, the extraordinary response to the disaster in Haiti, or the hosting of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Canada is earning a reputation for getting things done. And whether it’s falling tax rates, investments in research and innovation, improved intellectual property right protections, new market opening trade agreements, or a world-leading financial system, we are getting things done on the economy. There are today some hopeful signs in terms of growth and jobs, and we are assembly a virtuous reinforcing circle of strong policies that will continue to attract investors from around the world to this country. And it means this: Canada will emerge from this recession stronger, more competitive and better positioned than any other country on Earth.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, before I relinquish the podium, I just want to tell you a little bit of a story about Kongsberg products. Kongsberg makes the weapons turret that’s mounted on many of our light armoured vehicles in Afghanistan. They call it the Protector remote weapons system. This story is just one example of how Protector lives up to its name. Not long ago, one of our LAVs, light armoured vehicles, was sent to escort a bomb disposal unit to the suspected site of an IED, an improvised explosive device, a roadside bomb, if you like. This is a very routine mission in Afghanistan, but it also happens to be a very dangerous one. I have here a personal account of what happened on this occasion from a Canadian officer now on active service in Kandahar. This has not been published before, and this is what he wrote, and I quote: "While the number one was doing his job on the site, Sergeant Savoie used the impressive optics on the remote weapons station [that’s the Kongsberg product] to see that the ground was a slightly different temperature leading to the suspected site off the road. This was due to a command wire being dug in by insurgents. These advanced optics had no problem picking up minute changes in temperature, helping to lead explosive ordnance disposal onto the IED that could have killed the security forces in transit along the route, or possibly somebody on the bomb squad that very day."
Now, I want you to think of that for a moment. That’s what advanced technology, the applied power of the human mind can mean in human terms. That’s one soldier who might not have been coming back home who will now make it back. That’s one less widow to grieve, one less mother in mourning. You know, when Canadians agree to take up arms in defence of their country and their fellow human beings, our Canadian Forces assume unlimited liability. All our men and women in uniform ask in return is that we support them and that we do all we can to mitigate the risks they take on our behalf. This kind of equipment is one example of how we are doing that. Now Kongsberg is going to start making it in London. Are we pleased about that? Yes, absolutely, you bet we are.
So today we welcome Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace. Mr. Haugsdal, we look forward to a long and fruitful relationship between your company and the people of this great city of London.
Thank you.
