Good afternoon.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak. I'll get to straight to the point.
MDA is not just another Canadian company being reviewed under the Canada investment act. It's a company that has received significant and deliberate funding from the Government of Canada, either through the Canadian Space Agency or such programs as Industry Canada's Technology Partnerships Canada.
Over the years, the Canadian taxpayer has invested heavily in the growth of MDA in order to help create a world-class Canadian company capable of building the hardware that Canada needs to meet its national strategic objectives in space--monitoring our sovereignty in the Arctic or maritime traffic and fishing activity off our coasts; assessing environmental change; monitoring our many natural resources; helping relief teams in the event of national or international disasters; assisting winter navigation of ships through ice; and so on.
For example, the Canadian government agreed to pay about $430 million of the roughly $520 million RADARSAT-2 price tag as part of a public-private partnership aimed at helping MDA develop its commercial market for space-based imagery. In return, MDA would own and operate the satellite, and provide the government with specific imagery. This was a bold move back in the late nineties, aimed at positioning Canada as a leader in this developing international market.
There is no question that ownership of this satellite by MDA allowed it to get an extremely attractive offer from ATK of over $1.3 billion. In essence, the Canadian taxpayer allowed MDA to secure a very lucrative deal for its shareholders, and yet the Canadian public, which should be viewed as a shareholder, is giving up a great deal if this sale proceeds.
I believe the Government of Canada should take into account the fact that MDA is the only space company in Canada capable of building large, complex satellites, and that its sale would mean that from now on, the Canadian government would have to buy future satellites from foreign-owned companies.
It is certain that other countries with strategically important space companies would not allow such foreign takeovers.
Canada was the third country in space with the launch of Alouette I in 1962. It happened because the Department of National Defence wanted to understand the ionosphere and why it sometimes interfered with high-frequency communications. In other words, there was a need, and the Government of Canada, at that time under a Progressive Conservative leadership, demonstrated great vision by moving out into the brand-new frontier of space.
In the mid-sixties, the federal government again took a position of leadership in deciding that Canada needed to have its own national communications satellite to connect all Canadians, and particularly those in the far north. That led in 1972 to the communications satellite Anik E1 and its operator Telesat, and made Canada the first country in the world with its own national communications satellite. Again there was a need, and Canada took a position of leadership.
In the early nineties, the federal government made another important decision, this time to build an earth observation satellite to monitor Canada's vast territory. That satellite was RADARSAT-1, an outstanding example of both success and innovation. Again, the government recognized a need and took action.
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.
Thank you.