MILIT-AIR Issues $106M of Bonds

On June 28, 2002, MILIT-AIR Inc. issued $106 million of 5.87 per cent series 2-1 bonds to assist MILIT-AIR in expanding the NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) programme established in 1998. The programme was established by the federal government of Canada and Bombardier Inc. in 1998 to train military fighter pilots from Canada and other NATO countries. To date Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Singapore and the U.K., together with Canada, are sending, or have committed to provide, students to be trained under the programme.

Bombardier has overall responsibility for the furnishing of assets, infrastructure and services in support of the training of the pilots and is paid tuition fees by Canada in exchange for such contributions. MILIT-AIR acquires certain of the assets required for the programme (primarily planes and flight simulators), and leases the assets to Bombardier.

At the time of the programme’s establishment, MILIT-AIR issued $720 million of series-1 bonds and a platform was established whereby additional series of bonds could be issued by MILIT-AIR to finance the acquisition of additional assets from time to time and accordingly, series 2-1 bonds were issued by way of that platform.

MILIT-AIR was represented by Bill Rice, Margaret Lemay and Denise Bright of Bennett Jones LLP in Calgary. The government of Canada was represented by Alan Macdonald, Steve Conway and Lance Curtis, Department of Justice, Guy Plante of Heenan Blaikie LLP in Quebec, and James Lisson of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP in Toronto.

Robert Borduas, Solomon Sananes, Luc Boucher, Thierry Dorval and Jules Charette (tax) of Ogilvy Renault in Montreal represented Bombardier. Scotia Capital Inc. was the sole underwriter for the issuance of the series 2-1 bonds, and was represented by Ogilvy Renault in Toronto, with a team comprised of Jacques Demers, Merie-Anne Beavis, Elizabeth Lai-Fook and Teresa Tropea.