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OTTAWA — The Harper government’s decision to cancel Canadian participation in two NATO surveillance programs will cost it contracts in the country’s aerospace industry, newly released documents show.

National Defence was hoping to save as much as $90 million per year by withdrawing from the jointly owned and operated Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) and the Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS), a fairly new program meant to utilize drones to monitor the battlefield.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Harper Tories knew aerospace firms would lose millions when Canada pulled out of two NATO programs Back to video

Yet, documents released to The Canadian Press under access to information legislation show that taking part has meant a bonanza of tens of millions of dollars worth of work annually for at least half a dozen high-tech Canadian companies.

With the Canadian military no longer part of the sharing arrangement, those companies will be shut out of further bidding and not allowed to renew their existing contracts.