Transportation and Works
April 27, 2010

I rise today before this Honourable House to announce the delivery of the province's first new Bombardier 415 waterbomber — the first of four new waterbombers that the Provincial Government has purchased from Bombardier Aerospace in an agreement worth approximately $120 million.

The delivery of this new Bombardier 415 signals the beginning of a renewal process that will see the modernization and upgrading of Newfoundland and Labrador's vital emergency fire suppression capabilities. With this purchase the overall firefighting responsibility, shared between the Departments of Transportation and Works and Natural Resources forest fire management services, will be enhanced. This is another significant piece of infrastructure that will be added to this government's growing list of strategic investments and infrastructure improvements that benefit all residents of the province.

The Bombardier 415 is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has proven its capabilities throughout the globe. This aircraft has now arrived in Gander and our crews will begin training over the next several weeks. Once our flight crews have completed this training, this new aircraft will be put into service.

Our current fleet of six CL-215 waterbombers has been in operation for several decades now and has served us admirably. Although these planes are still fully operational and capable, four have reached a point in their lifespan where they are due for replacement or expensive overhauls. While we feel that we have maintained an effective firefighting capacity, it is in the best interests of all residents of Newfoundland and Labrador that we invest today to ensure we have the necessary, most modern and reliable tools available to us tomorrow and for many years to come.

This government has a long-term vision for an overall improved and upgraded provincial infrastructure. Reflected in the theme of Budget 2010: The Right Investments — For Our Children and Our Future is our continued commitment as a government to improve this province and leave it in a better state for the many generations that will come after us.

As announced in Budget 2010, the overall provincial infrastructure investment is valued at an unprecedented $5 billion over the next several years. In 2010-11 $50.3 million of this investment will go towards the purchase of these four new waterbombers, another fine example of our commitment to see our strategy and commitment through.