Three Saskatchewan organizations are receiving millions of dollars—some in the form of interest-free, repayable contributions, some from non-repayable contributions—from the federal government as part of Canada’s continued push to increase domestic defence production and shore up supply chains.
On April 24, Buckley Belanger, Canada’s secretary of state for rural development, announced $8.2 million in funding through the Regional Defence Investment Initiative (RDII), a three-year, $379-million national program that aligns with Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy to strengthen supply chains, expand domestic production, and increase military readiness.
“These defence investments are about positioning Saskatchewan to lead.”
Announced in Yorkton, Sask., a small city 300 kilometres southeast of Saskatoon that’s home to the Yorkton Armoury, the money will flow to three organizations that will “support the growth and integration of Canadian small-and-medium-sized businesses into the domestic and international defence supply chain,” according to a press release.
Parkland Welding & Machine (PWM), an engineering and manufacturing company specializing in custom hydraulics, is receiving the lion’s share of the investment, with a $5 million repayable investment going towards expanding its advanced manufacturing, fabrication, assembly, testing and proofing capabilities with the addition of automated machining tools, robotics, and a quality control laboratory to enable production of defence products for both Canadian and NATO purposes.
A few hours west of Yorkton, in Humboldt, Sask., the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute is receiving $3 million in non-repayable funding to create a military engineering and testing facility for off-road and on-road heavy vehicles. The facility will include hot and cold environmental chambers, and robotic and drone testing supported by data analytics to bring Prairie manufacturers “in line with international standards.”
Finally, Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s Digital Integration Centre of Excellence (DICE), based in Saskatoon, will receive a non-repayable investment of $277,000. Funding will go towards developing and testing an artificial intelligence drone system for autonomous command and control.
“Saskatchewan’s defence sector is growing and innovating to deliver new technologies and manufacturing capacity to support good jobs here at home,” Belanger said in a statement on April 24. “These defence investments are about positioning Saskatchewan to lead as we move forward with our plan to build a secure, prosperous, and resilient Canada.”
BetaKit’s Prairies reporting is funded in part by YEGAF, a not-for-profit dedicated to amplifying business stories in Alberta.
Feature image courtesy Unsplash. Photo by Ruvim Kerimov