Yes.
Evidence of meeting #28 for Industry, Science and Technology in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was mda.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #28 for Industry, Science and Technology in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was mda.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:40 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.
Yes.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
Art Hanger Conservative Calgary Northeast, AB
They've outlined what they see as the future, and I think some of it's just in the feasibility area. The satellite--obviously quite state-of-the-art--can be reconstructed now that the research is done for a much lower price, I would think, if you were to build another one.
12:40 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.
There is not a significant difference, no.
12:40 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.
No, the launch was off the shelf. The bus was off the shelf with a few modifications. The instrument, yes, was an MDA build, but to build a repeat instrument, given that technology has changed--it's been 10 years and so on--you can maybe shave 10% off the original. It's not like it's half; it's not a significant amount.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
Art Hanger Conservative Calgary Northeast, AB
Is part of the reason MDA is selling this asset due to the fact that there really is no future established or committed program for additional satellites in Canada?
12:40 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.
The reason MDA is doing the sale is what I've stated. There is not enough business in Canada under any government or any budget or any plan to support a company of our size. It's just not possible. We have to export and we have to export to the United States.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
12:40 p.m.
NDP
Peggy Nash NDP Parkdale—High Park, ON
Thank you, and good afternoon, Mr. Friedmann.
I had the privilege of touring the Brampton facility, and the robotics produced there are quite amazing, so congratulations on that.
I have a couple of questions. First of all, in the area of access to the data, I appreciate what you're saying, that Canada will get the data it has paid for. My question is around the priority access to data, and I know you have said that Canadian laws will continue to apply. But this must have been something that came up in the negotiations for the sale of the company, that Canada does have to comply with or that there is a Canadian RADARSAT law, the Remote Sensing Space Systems Act.
Are you saying you're guaranteeing that Canadians will continue to have priority access to data when Canada needs it for security or defence or sovereignty or environmental reasons, even though U.S. law also applies and there has been a legal opinion that says it will trump the Canadian law in this field?
12:45 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.
What I'm saying is that the Canadian government is in control of what happens, and they're reviewing the situation as we speak. It's totally under their control. That legal opinion is not based on reading the documents that exist in the Canadian government. Of course, I haven't seen them.
12:45 p.m.
NDP
Peggy Nash NDP Parkdale—High Park, ON
So basically, from your perspective, this is a business deal, and what happens in terms of government priority access is up to the government to establish?
12:45 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.
Right. I have been in our business for 29 years. We cannot do anything without government approval--nothing.
12:45 p.m.
NDP
Peggy Nash NDP Parkdale—High Park, ON
If there is a concern about priority access, then it's incumbent on the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the industry minister to deal with that concern and protect Canadian interests?
12:45 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.
Yes. What we have done is we have said to ATK, “Here's the contract, and you've got to say that you're obeying that contract”, which they have publicly said and privately said and signed and so on. That's my understanding of the situation.
12:45 p.m.
NDP
Peggy Nash NDP Parkdale—High Park, ON
Okay. So you haven't really gotten into the priority access piece, just the provision of data.
12:45 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.
No. I'm talking about the priority, the control, everything. All of those things have to--
12:45 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.
That's up to the government that is executing a government facility, and you cannot change that priority.
12:45 p.m.
NDP
Peggy Nash NDP Parkdale—High Park, ON
Okay.
The CSA was here before you came, and they painted a very rosy picture about our past accomplishments in the space industry and future accomplishments. MDA seems to have been doing very well. We had the recent launch of Dextre and the RADARSAT-2. Congratulations on both of those.
I notice that the quarter profits are up 37% and the annual profits are up 13%. The company seems to have been doing well.
It's not that MDA is losing money. I appreciate you're looking to the future. As I understand it, there are contracts that the government could fund on the order books. There's the partnership with the Europeans on the rover and the constellation project.
Critics are saying we're selling off cutting-edge, taxpayer-subsidized technology to foreign control. I guess you've heard all of that. Why couldn't this company be viable here in Canada when there are in fact projects that have not been funded that are on the order books?
12:45 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.
The company has never been viable in Canada in the past. It's always had significant exports. We were bought and then subsequently owned by a U.S. company for five years. During that time we entered some markets in the U.S. that were still leading off, but then we brought the company back into Canada and we ran out of that, so we have a problem there.
12:45 p.m.
NDP
Peggy Nash NDP Parkdale—High Park, ON
Mr. Friedmann, isn't the space industry around the world invested in by governments? Is there a space industry anywhere that doesn't have government investment in order to help develop technology and nurture the industry along, often in partnership with the private sector?
12:45 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.
I wouldn't call it investment. It's contracted and they are asked to do the work in their country. The ownership is all over the place. British Aerospace owns the fourth-largest defence contract in the United States. It's a British company. Most British companies are owned by the French, but they do their work in the countries according to the laws of the countries--another big misconception around.
12:45 p.m.
NDP
Peggy Nash NDP Parkdale—High Park, ON
All right. Thank you for that.
I have one other question. We had an MDA employee testify before the committee. I understand, just through the media, a couple of employees have quit. I understand there are about 40 employees who are wearing peace logo T-shirts.
Can you tell us what you think the impact of this sale to a U.S. defence contractor would be on the workforce? As you said, this technology is the result of this highly skilled, very talented group of employees who created this cutting-edge technology. Do we stand to lose some of the finest, brightest, and best people whom we've developed in Canada?
