UPDATE 1-Quebec sees no trade dispute risk around Bombardier investment

(Adds comments from Quebec finance minister, background)
By Euan Rocha
TORONTO, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Quebec is sure that its $1
billion lifeline for Bombardier Inc BBDb.TO will not result in
any trade disputes triggered by concerns from the train and
plane maker's rivals, the Canadian province's finance minister
said on Monday.
"We have structured this as a separate company and a limited
partnership between the government and Bombardier," said Quebec
Finance Minister Carlos Leitão, while speaking with media on the
sidelines of the P3 2015 investment conference in Toronto.
"This is well within permitted standards because it is not a
subsidy," Leitão said. "It is an equity participation."
Last week, the Quebec government outlined plans to invest $1
billion in Bombardier's CSeries jets in return for a nearly 50
percent stake in the struggling project.
Some fear that Quebec's support may raise an outcry from
Brazil's Embraer EMBR3.SA , which has lodged complaints in the
past about government backing for rival Bombardier and the
CSeries. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N12T3Z5
Quebec's aerospace industry is closely tied to the fortunes
of Bombardier, whose 18,000-strong workforce in the province is
largely focused on the sector. The company's presence also helps
support many smaller vendors and suppliers in the province.
The province estimates that Bombardier accounts for roughly
40,000 direct and indirect jobs there, with average salaries
almost double the local average.
Leitão declined to weigh in on how any federal investment in
the company would be structured. Quebec has indicated that it
intends to ask the incoming Liberal federal government to match
its own $1 billion investment.
"It would be up to the federal government and the company to
decide," said Leitão. "The way we've structured it, I think,
makes a lot of sense."
Leitão said he did not think Bombardier had formally
approached the federal government for this money.
The company has stated that it is still exploring a range of
options, including the sale of a minority stake in its rail arm.
Bombardier's narrow-body CSeries line of aircraft, set to
compete against Boeing (N:BA) Co's BA.N 737 planes and Airbus Group's
AIR.PA A319 and A320 jets, has been delayed for years and is
billions of dollars over budget. Struggles with the CSeries have
left Bombardier saddled with more than $9 billion in debt.