Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I want to echo Mr. Byers' comments that I too am very proud of this satellite. I had the opportunity of seeing it launched, and I'm proud of the Canadian aerospace industry altogether. When I look at this, it's something that I think all members like to promote and be very proud of.
I did want to acknowledge Mr. Brison's comments about ITAR, and I just want to let him know that Minister Bernier is seeking exemptions under ITAR. I think that's very important.
I'd like to make a couple of statements. First, the government has not made any decisions under the Investment Canada Act about the proposed sale of MDA. Second, any statements about the decision or the impact of the decision nationally or internationally at this time is completely speculative.
I'd like to jog the memories of members that the contracts for RADARSAT-2 were signed in 1998 by the previous Liberal government with MDA, while MDA was a subsidiary, wholly owned by Orbital Sciences Corporation, a U.S. multinational.
We're talking about Canada giving up a great deal, or the deal. It seems that this has never been entirely in Canadians' hands at all, or in the Canadian government's hands.
Mr. Byers, you wrote in the Toronto Star, I think, on January 22, and I was wondering if you could explain it further:
Shockingly, Canadians began to lose control over Radarsat-2 before it was even built. When Jean Chrétien decided to privatize the construction process in 1998, MDA started marketing the satellite's capabilities to defence contractors and foreign militaries. Six years later, the company announced a deal with the U.S. air force to support “in-theatre support for the war fighter.”
I was wondering if you could elaborate on that a bit, because it seems this has never been 100% in Canadians' hands, with it being a private company. What do you mean by Canadians' hands?