Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the standing committee, for the invitation to appear before you.
For the record, I would like to make a correction. I do not hold the title of professor. I am a doctor—that's a title that I earned and worked for—and I am a consultant. My contractual links with the Institute of Air and Space Law, as of very recently, are no longer there. I just wanted to clarify that for the record so there is no misinterpretation as to my affiliation and title.
I have a few points that I would like to highlight this morning.
Canada has a very long and proud history in the space industry, and I think sometimes it's good to go back in time and remember what the government policy drivers were at the time the decision was made to develop RADARSAT-1.
The three primary drivers were to allow Canada to be able to manage its own resources, to have sovereignty over the northern regions of Canada, and to allow environmental monitoring. These three issues have, over the years, increased in importance. Every government in the past 10 years—and most recently the throne speech that was pronounced in 2007—has indicated that strengthening Canada's sovereignty is a clear priority.
Within the next 10 to 15 years the Northwest Passage may be open to routine maritime traffic. Canada must ensure that it has the ability and capability to monitor the comings and goings in the Arctic. Clearly, space-based technologies such as RADARSAT-2 are...in terms of SAR, radar technology is really the jewel in the crown, and it is the most highly available commercial SAR satellite on the market today.
Another point I would like to highlight is what other countries around the world are doing. When Canada entered this field there was only a handful of space-faring nations. Now the competition is much fiercer. Countries, even small-scale countries like Nigeria for example, are coupling with private companies in the U.K. to launch their own satellite packages for remote sensing purposes. Clearly, they will not have the resolution and the amount of finite valuable information that a three-metre SAR can provide, but the trend, if you look around the world, is increasingly for countries to have their indigenous remote sensing systems. The reason for that is to not be overly dependent on those countries that traditionally, for the past 30 or 40 years, have developed an extensive market in that field. I think there are valuable lessons to be learned there. At least questions should be asked as to why it seems that we're going in the opposite direction.
Another point I'd like to raise is the need, in the very near future, if not today or tomorrow, for this government to really think about the adoption of a coherent space policy. Again, the United States adopted a new policy in 2006. For the first time, the European Union adopted a policy in 2007. Though the interests and the drivers may not be the same—because national interests are important and they vary—all of them will agree that it's a strategic decision.
It is important for the development of industry to retain competitiveness. It's extremely important for the research and development and future training of individuals in the science and engineering fields. There are socio-economic benefits that have already been tabled in terms of numbers, and future technologies can only increase with time. The dependence of governments and citizens on space-based technology has increased dramatically, and this trend is not going to stop; it will only increase in time.
My colleague mentioned that Canada has international obligations to meet, as well, in terms of providing certain imagery under international agreements like the UN charter, for example, and I would also raise the whole issue of public good.
The technology that MDA developed for RADARSAT-2 is not equivalent to a technology for a new widget or a new paper clip. This is extremely valuable high technology with national security implications. Millions of Canadian taxpayer dollars were invested in this. The space industry is one that needs an extremely long lead time, so to develop something like RADARSAT-2, or to try to repeat it.... If you lose the IP, you lose the stepping stone on which to build the future generation. You really have to start at zero, and the lead time is extremely long. It's between seven and ten years. It's high risk, with a lot of financial investment, and stakeholders need to be gathered to make this happen.
I feel that some of these points really need to be answered very clearly.
Last but not least, I would like to raise a question.
Canada's Remote Sensing Space Systems Act, the legislation that entered into force in 2005, and the regulations that just entered into force in March 2007 were clearly inspired by the U.S. legislation. The United States has by far the biggest stakes. It has the broadest legislation, and that's normal because they have the biggest fleet and the biggest stakes.
Again, I don't have an answer; I'd just like to flag this for discussion. But when you read the regulations that apply to the United States' operators of private land remote sensing space systems, what's interesting to note is the definition of “person” under this act. The act applies to “any person subject to the jurisdiction or control of the United States who operates or proposes to operate a private remote sensing system, either directly or through an affiliate or subsidiary”.
Therefore, because it is my understanding, at least from what I've read in the press, that the potential sale of MDA to ATK would make MDA a subsidiary, I just raise this point for discussion.
Thank you for your attention.