PrairiesCan to invest $8.2M in Sask. to boost defence

Karen Fransishyn and Buckley Belanger at a defence funding announcement in Yorkton on Friday. (Fruzsina De Cloedt / CTV News)

Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan) is investing more than $8.2 million in Saskatchewan to boost Canada’s defence capabilities.

The investment is an effort to meet the new North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Defence Investment Pledge. Canada is committed to spending five percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035.

The commitment is part of the recently announced Defence Industrial Strategy, which will lead to $5 billion worth of investments and 125,000 jobs created Canada-wide.

“This is an example of how you put out the call to Canadians, and rural Saskatchewan responded to this with two companies in particular,” Secretary of State for Rural Development Buckley Belanger said in his speech in Yorkton on Friday.

“I think there’s going to be many more companies looking at the opportunity around protecting our country, Canada.”

The announcement was made at Parkland Welding & Machine Ltd. and PWM Hydraulics Ltd., both Yorkton-based companies, which will use the funding to expand their engineering, advanced manufacturing, fabrication, assembly, testing, and proofing capabilities.

“This investment through the [Regional Defence Investment Initiative] is a strong commitment to building Canada’s defence industrial capability and supporting companies like ours to grow and compete globally,” said Karen Fransishyn, PWM’s owner.

Parkland Welding & Machine Ltd. and PWM Hydraulics Ltd. receive a $5 million repayable investment from PrairiesCan.

Out of the $8.2 million pot, $3 million supports the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute in Humboldt, Sask.

“We’re supporting the creation of a new advanced military engineering and testing facility for heavy vehicles, robotics, and drone testing, while helping our manufacturers meet Canadian and international standards,” Belanger explained in his speech.

In addition to the Yorkton and Humboldt entities, $227,000 supports Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s Digital Integration Centre of Excellence (DICE).

“Through the funding and alliances of partners, we will develop and test low-cost systems where multiple drones can work together, guided by artificial intelligence, to detect and respond to potential threats quickly and efficiently,” said Dr. Terry Peckham, DICE’s director and research chair.

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The direction of these investments point toward high-tech military solutions, but Belanger could not get into specifics.

“It’s a national defence issue,” he said. “Obviously, there’s secrecy around how we picture defence companies. We have to be very, very careful in that regard. They can explain a bit more than I can, but clearly we don’t want to get into too many details on that front.”

When asked how the government will measure the success of the investments announced on Friday, Belanger did not give specifics.

“We’re at two per cent of our GDP being spent on national defence, so if we achieve that commitment much quicker than anticipated,” he answered. “You look at all the work that our Prime Minister has done in cabinet, there has been a tremendous amount of work.”

The announcement came amid affordability issues the country is facing.

“That’s why I want to inform the crowd that last week, our Prime Minister announced that we’re temporarily suspending the federal fuel excise tax from now until Labour Day,” Belanger said in his speech. “That means about $0.10 a litre on gas and $0.4 on diesel.”