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The federal government’s industrial benefits program for military procurement is so open to interpretation that instead of high-tech defence industry jobs Canada could end up with more plants that produce french fries, say procurement specialists.

The government has allowed Irving Shipbuilding to claim a $40-million industrial benefit credit for an Alberta french fry factory as part of a contract to provide the Royal Canadian Navy with new Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships, the Globe and Mail confirmed Thursday.

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Under the government’s industrial and technological benefits policy, the prime contractors on such military procurements are required to do work in Canada equal to 100 per cent of the value of the contract they receive.

The policy is supposed to promote innovative work and research in defence and aerospace fields, but the system is so flexible in how it defines benefits that there are no real guarantees the shipbuilding program will create quality defence jobs, said Michael Byers, a University of British Columbia professor who co-wrote a report six years ago predicting such a problem. The Globe reported Irving received a credit for roughly $40 million towards its industrial benefit obligations from its $425-million investment in the Cavendish Farms frozen potato processing plant in Lethbridge, Alta.