The normally talkative North Bay Mayor, Vic Fedeli, was pretty tight-lipped in saying much about his city losing out on landing a 250-job seaplane assembly plant to Quebec, except to express his "major disappointment."
Dornier Seaplane Company ended an eight-month public courting process to find a new manufacturing home for its Seastar amphibious aircraft in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, a suburb of Montreal, over the northeastern Ontario city.
The announcement was made May 17, at a press conference attended by Quebec cabinet ministers.
The City of North Bay had been aggressive in pursuing the Punta Gorda, Florida company to add them as a tenant in the Aerospace Park at the Jack Garland Airport.
But the Quebec government enticed Dornier to set up shop with a $35 million loan, almost half the cost of the $71.5 million project.
The plant will be the final assembly site for Dornier's composite Seastar amphibious plane. It will create 250 assembly line jobs over five years with an additional 200 fabrication jobs to support the plant, plus 75 more jobs at aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney in Quebec.
Fedeli would not speak publicly about the contents or competitiveness of the Ontario government's offer to Dornier, since he was bound by a confidentiality agreement.
"You can ask them," Fedeli said referring to North Bay MPP Monique Smith and Sandra Pupatello, the Minister of Economic Development and Trade.
Smith, an Ontario cabinet minister for Intergovernmental Affairs, was not made available for comment.
Pupatello said through her spokesman that Ontario put a "very competitive" offer on the table.
In an e-mailed response, Pupatello said during negotiations with Dornier, the investment required to land the Florida aircraft manufacturer was "significantly higher" than the province's usual 15 to 20 per cent stake.
"We have a responsibility to Ontario tax payers, and we take that very seriously, to invest wisely. I would have loved to get those Dornier jobs in North Bay, but a 50 per cent stake is in my view an abrogation of that responsibility we have to Ontario tax payers.
Pupatello said the provincial government understands how important the aerospace industry is to North Bay and that's why Queen's Park invested in repaving the runway at Jack Garland.
"We think it's more than just the subsidies," she said. "We're prepared to discuss partnerships too, but there has to be a limit."
Pupatello encouraged Ontario aviation suppliers to investigate supply chain opportunities with Dornier.
Fedeli said he was told by Conrado Dornier, heir to the three-generation family business, that "North Bay won their hearts and minds," but the mayor added "Quebec came up with the money.
"You just can't compete with that."
North Bay's package included turn-key access to a 20,000-square-foot hangar owned by Voyageur Airways, a local aircraft repair and refurbishment shop skilled in working on the Pratt & Whitney engines used in the Seastar.
Canadore College's nearby aviation campus was ready to supply a steady stream of job-ready skilled technicians.
Jack Garland Airport offers a 10,000-foot runway that was once headquarters to a Canadian Forces fighter wing during the Cold War.
The city is also the final assembly point for Bombardier's CL-415 waterbomber.
In a statement, Dornier CEO Joe Walker said North Bay was "an outstanding location for aviation projects" and Ontario's offer was "very competitive to Quebec."
Fedeli developed a close personal relationship with Dornier representatives and Conrado Dornier and his family. They visited North Bay numerous times to tour the community and the hangar. The Seastar aircraft was also in North Bay for more than month.
"When you looked at their faces you knew that they were visualizing where the equipment was going to go," said Fedeli. "But at the end of the day, how the heck do you argue with $35 million from the (Quebec) government?"
Last October, the Dornier company chose to make the site selection process a very public one in announcing North Bay as one of the two finalists, which served to amp up the bidding.
But Fedeli said his city did well to inject itself into the mix last summer when Dornier had previously narrowed its choices between Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Trois-Rivieres.
He said the fact that the company's decision-making period was extended from an originally announced 90-days to eight months showed that North Bay was a "serious contender.
"We made a very compelling case that ended costing the Quebec government $35 million."
However, the promotional boost the city received in the national and aviation media was a "gold star" for its budding aerospace sector.
