Canada should be able to launch Canadian payloads from Canadian soil. That's a legitimate objective. We have a proud history in space.
I won't take us on too long of a journey, but Canada's first astronaut in space in 1984, the year I was born, was Marc Garneau. We, of course, have the Canadarm and the Canadarm2; Canada's first woman in space, Roberta Bondar; Chris Hadfield's commanding the international space station; and Jeremy Hansen's role on Artemis II. The Canadian Space Agency says that commercial launch is now a natural evolution for Canada's space sector, and I agree.
The question isn't whether Canada should pursue sovereign launch capability. The question is whether taxpayers got good value for money on this particular $200-million deal.
Should Canada have sovereign launch capabilities? Absolutely. The issue is the deal. The government announced a 10-year, $200-million agreement to lease one dedicated launch pad at a spaceport in Nova Scotia. The government says that it will support DND, the Canadian Armed Forces, the Government of Canada, our allies and our partners. It says that the pad has to reach “initial operational capability...by the end of 2026” and that “90% of the funds...must be spent in Canada.”
Those are very important promises, but they raise accountability questions. How was the $200-million price determined? Was there a competitive process, or was this a sole-source deal? What did taxpayers receive for that first year, given that the agreement is retroactive to April 1, 2025, with $20 million per year and the first $20-million payment due before March 31, 2026? What milestones, holdbacks, clawbacks or cancellation rights protect taxpayers if the site is not ready by the end of 2026?
Finally, what due diligence was done on the financial position of the company? Its 2025 annual filing refers to the spaceport as being under construction and notes that depreciation begins when the spaceport is available for use.
I most certainly would not say that the project is bad or that Canada shouldn't pursue this capability. In fact, I would say the exact opposite, because this capability matters for Canada. As Parliament, we have a role to play. In fact, I would say that we have a duty to make sure that the money was handled properly.
If everything was done properly, the government and the company should be able to show that. That's why it's important that we pursue that accountability here at this committee.
Thank you.