On March 5th the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology held a hearing chaired by Mr. James Rajotte, member for parliament form Edmonton-Leduc. Witnesses included Mr. Marc Garneau former President, Canadian Space Agency, Mr. Steven Staples, Chair, Rideau Institute on International Affairs, Mr. Michael Byers, Professor, Canada Research Chair (Tierne) in Global Politics and International Law, University of
British Columbia, Mr. Hugh Thompson (Spacecraft systems engineer, MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.
The attached PDF provides their statements and answers to questions posed by members of the committee.
Here is an excerpt from Mr Steven Staples:
"Mr. Steven Staples (Chair, Rideau Institute on International Affairs): Good afternoon, and thank you very much for inviting me to speak to you today."
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"Today we've prepared a backgrounder for you as the committee examines the proposed sale of MDA's information system, which includes RADARSAT-2, and MDA's space robotics division, which is responsible for Canadarm2, the space station remote manipulator system, which is Canada's contribution to the international space station."
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"Since the beginning of the program, RADARSAT has been hailed as a breakthrough in Canada's ability to monitor our vast land mass and to better understand our geography, our natural resources, and monitor our coast lines. How prescient were its designers that today,with climate change and the eventual opening of the Northwest
Passage to shipping, we would have this system available to us to ensure our security and to assert our sovereignty."
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"Ironically, in this sale of RADARSAT-2 to the U.S. firm Alliant Techsystems, we may be undermining our own national security. We could be selling off our ability to monitor our coasts and provide our government with the data it needs to make decisions. As well, we could be eroding our industrial base and space industries, which will
limit our future capacities."
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"This is a bad deal for Canadians. Taxpayers have invested close to $500 million in the remote sensing satellite RADARSAT-2. In contrast, MDA, the private owner of RADARSAT-2, has reportedly invested a much smaller amount--some estimates have been as low as $92 million. Yet it's selling this technology and its other space
systems for a cool $1.3 billion."
Here is an excerpt from Marc Garneau, former President of the Canadian Space Agency:
"The bottom line is that space is a critically important strategic tool for the Government of Canada. That importance will continue to grow as more and more countries head for space. Canada will require new and more capable satellites in the future."
"Let me get to the crux of the matter. There will be times when Canada will want to design spacecraft itself, as it has done in the past, and for reasons of national security or for reasons of economic competitiveness will want to have them built by a Canadian-owned company. That option will not exist if the proposed sale goes forward. And a great deal of effort and taxpayer money over many years will have benefited MDA shareholders but not Canadians."
"Having said that, if the government recognizes the importance of keeping MDA capability under Canadian ownership, it must also ensure that it provides the means to ensure the continued viability of
such a company."