Bombardier calls for 'fair competition' as Ottawa eyes sole-source contract for surveillance planes

The Quebec-based jet manufacturer Bombardier is calling on the federal government to launch a "fair competition" to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force's surveillance planes.

The federal government signalled in March it's considering sole-sourcing the contract to American aviation giant Boeing.

Public Services and Procurement Minister Helena Jaczek told a parliamentary committee this week that while the project is not a done deal, the Department of National Defence has said the Boeing P-8A Poseidon is the only aircraft available that meets its needs.

Bombardier says it wants an open competition that would allow it to compete directly with Boeing for the contract.

"I have a very specific message for Boeing," Jean-Christophe Gallagher, Bombardier's executive VP for aircraft sales and defence, told CBC News.

"They claim they have the best aircraft, so I'm sure they're not afraid to go into competition. So we welcome the competition with Boeing and may the best win."

Sean Liedman, Boeing's director of international business development for mobility and surveillance aircraft, said a competition seems unnecessary because Boeing's plane "is the only aircraft that meets the requirements."

"I'm not sure there's a need for competition," he added.

This isn't the first time the two aerospace companies have butted heads over market share.

Six years ago, Boeing launched a trade challenge against Bombardier with the U.S. Department of Commerce claiming Bombardier's CSeries jets were heavily subsidized by Ottawa. The department hit Bombardier with heavy anti-dumping duties that were later overturned by the United States International Trade Commission.

The ensuing battle prompted a frustrated Liberal government to later shelve a plan to sole-source the purchase of Boeing Super Hornet jet fighters.

Canada made a formal request to the U.S. in March for an offer for "up to 16 P-8A Poseidon aircraft and associated equipment and initial servings, as well as access to intellectual and technical data."

Jaczek told a parliamentary committee this week the project is in the "options analysis" stage and the government hasn't committed at this point to purchasing the P-8A Poseidon.

"Having said that, the Department of Defence has told us that at this point in time the P-8A Poseidon is the only currently available aircraft that meets all of the Canadian multi-mission aircraft operational requirements," Jaczek said Monday. "That's what they're telling us."