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Documents on Canadian External Relations
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Volume #14 - 708. | |
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CHAPTER VII INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS | |
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PART
7 SALE OF CANADAIR NORTH STAR AIRCRAFT TO BRITISH OVERSEAS AIRWAYS CORPORATION | |
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708. |
DEA/11046-40 |
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Secretary of State for External Affairs to High Commissioner in United Kingdom | |
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TELEGRAM 145 |
Ottawa,
January 29th, 1948 |
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Following from Howe, Begins: Canadair Limited as you know, have been pressing the sale of fifty Canadair-4 aircraft to BOAC, who obviously desire to purchase the Canadair-4 as the aeroplane most suitable for service on Empire routes. 2. Political dispute about suitability of Tudor aircraft is delaying the transaction, and it would appear that Ministry of Supply are opposing the purchase. 3. Canada is at present purchasing all its military aircraft from the United Kingdom, and will continue to do so provided our small Canadian industry can be occupied with civilian type aeroplanes. Canada's defence requirements make it essential that Canadair Limited at Montreal be kept in production and that Victory Aircraft at Toronto be kept busy with development work, the latter being the responsibility of the Canadian Government, 4. It will be helpful if representations, bearing on the exchange of production between Canada and England on the above lines, can be made a matter of policy. The North Star-4 is recognized as competitive with any four-engine plane now in production, and the order from BOAC will provide work for this plant for the next twelve months. On the other hand, Canadian purchases of military type aircraft will probably be helpful to British production and will, in the long run, considerably exceed in value the civilian aircraft from Canada. 5. Anything you can do to assist the purchase of Canadair planes by BOAC will be most helpful in solving the problem of keeping Canadian aircraft production active. I understand that the matter has now reached a high Cabinet level, where a word to the Prime Minister and to the Chancellor of the Exchequer might throw the balance our way. Ends. | |
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