Alberta Skydivers is suing the British military, saying it backed out of an agreement to train paratroopers, leaving the company out millions of dollars.
Thousands of British soldiers have trained at the facility in Beiseker over the years, leading the owners to build an industrial-sized kitchen, laundry room, lounge and a dormitory for more than 60 people.
“I've had a long relationship with the soldiers that are based in Canada and I think they were expecting and counting on this going ahead again this year, and the decision made in England took us all a bit by surprise,” said Ian Flanagan, Alberta Skydivers.
Flanagan said he built the additions to the facility at the request of the British military, as it accounts for about 75 per cent of the company’s business. The company just hired 10 people to handle the nearly 600 troops expected to come through, but just before the contract was to be renewed for this year, the British backed out.
“They would have been training the soldiers,” said Flanagan. “There's a cook, there's a dishwasher, there are parachute packers, there's a training pilot, all the people you need to be able to service this contract.”
Flanagan is now suing both the Canadian government and British military, demanding that they pay for the dorm and cover the salaries of the people he had to lay off, a total of nearly $3 million.
There has been no comment from the British military, but the lawsuit alleges bureaucrats in Ottawa are blaming Brexit.
“There is a lot of uncertainty, July was a bad month for the UK, right after the government markets tumbled, the Pound Sterling depreciated significantly,” said Eugene Beaulieu, University of Calgary School of Public Policy.
Flanagan says he has nobody else lined up to use the dorm or the dozens of parachutes set aside specifically for the troops.
