The European aerospace giant wants to sell Canada more planes, helicopters and other gear as the country boosts defence spending, but warned that it can only offer enticements that are under its control, like research and development work and local procurement. “If you ask us, ‘Can you bring a car plant in exchange for us selecting [an Airbus helicopter]?’ the answer is ‘Probably not, no,’” Olivier Michalon, Airbus’s executive vice-president of global business, told The Logic. (The Logic)

Talking point: Such quid-pro-quo deals are merely “transactional,” Michalon said, and that’s not how Airbus understands Canada’s long-term desire for industrial benefits from its major military purchases—which is to see them yield sustainable domestic economic activity. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly laid out the Liberal government’s approach at a conference in November: Canada obviously wants domestic supply chains and intellectual property, she said, “but we will also be very transactional,” insisting that if Canada buys submarines from a foreign vendor, for instance, Canadian-made satellites or jets will have to go the other way.