Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to note that very shortly after the announced sale of MDA, I raised this with the committee, and it was the will of the committee that we would not hear from the minister until a period of between four and six weeks after I had raised the issue. When I proposed that we hear from witnesses, at the time we felt that one session of testimony would be adequate, but as I said in the motion and in my explanation of my original motion, the reason for wanting further hearings was based on the testimony that we heard from those initial witnesses. I have no problem in hearing from people at the Canadian Space Agency, but as I say, I think we should hear from the company.
The reason I proposed hearing directly from the ministers themselves is that under the act governing the operation of remote sensing space systems, it's very clear that it is the ministers involved who have responsibilities concerning licences of these satellites. It's very clear that it's the Minister of Foreign Affairs, for example, who can suspend a licence if he or she is convinced the operation is likely to be harmful to national security, defence, or the conduct of international relations, or is likely to be inconsistent with international obligations.
I'm quoting from the act. It says that the Minister of National Defence may order a licensee to restrict or interrupt any operation for a specified period of time if that minister believes that continuation of the operation would harm national defence interest.
The act also says:
The Solicitor General of Canada may order a licensee to provide any service
(a) to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) that the Solicitor General believes is desirable for the fulfilment of the RCMP's responsibilities under subsection 6(1) of the Security Offences Act;
(b) to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) that the Solicitor General believes is desirable for the fulfilment of its responsibilities under the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act; or
(c) to the Government of Canada that the Solicitor General believes is desirable for critical infrastructure protection or emergency preparedness.
These are very specific and wide-ranging powers that the ministers have. These were put in here for a reason, and the reason was that there was concern about this technology slipping out of Canadian control and that there were specific important national interests that this bill was designed to protect. Even at the time, the point was raised at the foreign affairs committee by the NDP that in fact there were not enough protections for the national interest. Now I think these concerns are coming once again to the forefront.
It's nice to have people from the department come and give us their opinions, but the legal responsibilities are held by the ministers. That's why in my motion I listed the ministers responsible. It is because these powers and responsibilities are quite significant, and from the testimony we heard, the key here is who holds the licences for these images. These are questions that we need answered. We need to know the consequences from the people who have political responsibility on the part of the Government of Canada.
I just wanted to raise that in reference to the amendment put forward by Mr. Carrie.
I do want to say, while I have the floor, that I recognize the concern that time is running out, which is why I raised these concerns early on, and I appreciate that the committee has much other business that it wants to complete. Therefore, I do want to use this opportunity, while I have the floor, to support the call for an extension of the time allotted to the industry minister before he makes his final decision. Obviously it is the minister himself who has the power and the responsibility to take the decision on this, but I believe this committee should recommend that he take the additional time at his disposal so that we can fully explore the impact of the sale for Canadians.
Mr. Carrie asked why we're doing this, given that we do not have the power to influence the decision; it is the minister who has the power to make the decision. I think everyone here recognizes that it is the minister, but I also think we all recognize that we have a responsibility to Canadians to examine issues that are in the national interest of Canadians. Asking key questions, raising concerns, being able to ask the minister himself about some of the concerns we have, asking other ministers involved--those are all part of our responsibility. The future of our country's sovereignty, our role in future space projects--those are pretty important things for us to consider and to fully understand. I think it's an important obligation that the committee is undertaking.
Thank you.