Thank you Palo. Good morning Mr. Brossoit, my colleague the Minister of Education, ladies and gentlemen.

It’s a pleasure to be here to recognize a positive, new milestone for this plant and its employees.

Having a new jet engine assembly line and testing facility is also a major milestone for Nova Scotia’s aerospace and defence sector.

Pratt & Whitney Canada has been part of Nova Scotia’s economy for over 20 years and today’s announcement speaks loudly about the next 20 years.

The Government of Nova Scotia is proud to be a partner in this exciting project. We are investing in the future of this plant and its highly skilled workforce. We are also investing in the future of the aerospace and defence sector of this province.

I want to congratulate Pratt & Whitney Canada for its decision to begin building and testing jet engines here in Halifax.

When we see companies like yours investing money in the future of a local plant, it shows confidence in government’s ability to provide a good business climate. It also shows confidence in your employees, who live here with their families in Nova Scotia.

And, it shows confidence in the ability to find future skilled and motivated workers he re in this province. Much of that is due to your partnership with, and investment in, our education system. My colleague, the Minister of Education, will have to more to say on that in a few minutes.

This is a very competitive, global industry that requires innovation and a keen appetite for research. Those same qualities can be found throughout Nova Scotia’s growing aerospace and defence sector.

This important sector generates approximately $500 million in revenues each year, and contributes about $1.5 billion to the provincial economy.

It is a modern, export-driven, knowledge-based business with a reputation for quality. It is an important part of Nova Scotia’s future.

Today’s announcement is also good news for the business community.

This new project will generate opportunities for suppliers and for services both in the local area and throughout the province.

But most of all, this is about the future of this plant and its employees.

This new project brings the very core activity of the Pratt & Whitney Canada to the Halifax plant. It will involve a state-of-the-art assembly line, with workers building and testing a new type of jet engine. And they will be busy. When completed, this plant will produce and test about 250 engines a year.

I want to thank Mr. Brossoit and Mr. Dal Cin for their role in bringing this project to Nova Scotia. It brings stability to this facility and opens up opportunities for the future.

It helps make our province attractive to other leading-edge companies interested in coming to Nova Scotia.

Our economy continues moving from one that is based on our natural resource-based industries to a more diversified, knowledge-based economy.

It is one that is ideally suited to our strengths – 11 universities and a strong community college system, the most educated workforce in Canada, and a low turnover rate.

Pratt & Whitney Canada have joined a number of companies that have recently announced growth plans.

As a government, we will continue to play a key role in setting the conditions for growth – balanced budgets, reduction of red tape, and ongoing support for businesses.

More than 20 years ago, Pratt & Whitney Canada made a significant impact on Nova Scotia when it announced it was building a new facility in Halifax.

Since that time, this plant has continued to modernize and diversify.

Today, the plant enters a new and important phase of its history with a new jet engine assembly line and test centre. The future looks very bright in this plant.

Thank you.