Experts worry about Canadian water bomber expertise amid rising demand and aging fleets

Aviation experts say Canada is losing its expertise in making water bombers, even as demand increases

The Canadair CL-415, a specially designed water bomber, was last produced in 2015. This aircraft, along with its predecessor, the CL-215, are the only water bombers used in Quebec and play an important role in the fleets of other provinces.

On Monday, water bombers from Montana were deployed to Quebec to support the province's firefighters and its fleet of 14 CL-415 and CL-215 aircraft. Quebec is experiencing its worst wildfire season in history, following a record-breaking wildfire season in Nova Scotia. Minister of Civil Protection Bill Blair stated during a press conference earlier this week that the provinces have enough equipment to combat the fires raging in several regions of the country. If necessary, he said, Ottawa will try to acquire additional equipment from other countries.

"But we need to know where (the equipment) is and how we can access it very quickly," he said.According to John Gradek, coordinator of the aviation management program at McGill University, it can be difficult to quickly find aircraft because other countries are also battling fires. "The northern hemisphere is in the midst of wildfire season," he said in an interview. "We will struggle to find a country that can lend us planes."

Mr. Gradek believes that the provinces should have purchased more tanker aircraft. "In Canada, we have 55 Canadair aircraft - a combination of CL-215 and CL-415," he said, adding that "given the number of wildfires currently raging in the country, it is absolutely insufficient."

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