Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'll be sharing my time with my colleague, Mr. Lebel.
We on this side of the House feel there is a bright and growing future for CSA with the ongoing and upcoming programs--the announcement of the astronaut recruiting program, the James Webb Space Telescope, the International Space Station, and the Radarsat Constellation program.
This Conservative government recognizes the strategic importance of having a long-term S and T policy, which is why the government addressed the issue in budget 2008 of transforming ideas into concrete, innovative products.
What I would like to ask anyone.... Perhaps Mr. Last would like to comment on this. Professor Michael Byers of UBC states, and I quote:
Shockingly, Canadians began to lose control over Radarsat-2 before it was even built.
Do you agree with that statement? Is it true today? And do you think it was wrong for the former government--and I have to say Liberal, unfortunately, as they were there at that time, and it's not being political--to have allowed a private company to own and operate a piece of hardware like Radarsat?