Thank you. Good afternoon.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am very pleased to be here today to provide my comments.
Thank you for holding hearings on this important topic, and I look forward to today’s discussion.
As mentioned, I'm Kevin Ford, CEO of Calian Group. I'm also the vice-chair of Space Canada. Calian, if you don't know, is a Canadian company that designs, builds, tests and installs ground stations; builds custom components for space; provides custom software integration; and delivers 24-7 satellite flight operations. We deliver ground stations for a wide range of satellite applications, including earth observation, synthetic aperture radar and satellite communications. We have manufacturing facilities in Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan; Ottawa, Ontario, and Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec.
Calian delivered 35-metre deep space antennas for the European Space Agency as part of the Rosetta mission to fly a probe to a comet hundreds of millions of kilometres from earth and then land on it. For NASA, we've delivered 12-metre antennas for the very long baseline interferometry program to determine earth’s place in the galaxy relative to space bodies. For the Canadian Space Agency, we've delivered satellite flight operations to make sure that Canada’s satellites are on time and on target for the mission they are delivering. Finally, we've delivered landing stations for Natural Resources Canada.
For cybersecurity, Calian delivers network security, network operations centres and security operations centres and emissions security solutions to protect facilities, networks and infrastructure from unauthorized intrusion. We also deliver realistic and immersive individual and collective training to prepare the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces for the challenges they face on operations.
Canada was the third spacefaring nation in 1962 and has been a global leader in developing on-earth and in-space technologies. However, Canada is in danger of falling behind partners, allies and adversaries in space. The central challenge facing Canada now is the need to better integrate its commercial space sector into a national vision of what Canada will do in space. The commercial sector represents roughly 85% of the space market today. The commercial sector is primarily driving the newest innovations and latest capabilities. The capabilities that are owned and operated by governments for civil and defence purposes are overwhelmingly developed and delivered by commercial companies. Canada’s allies have recognized the need to better integrate their commercial sectors into a national vision. Moreover, they have organized to deliver the most value for their industries and their national interests.
Australia has integrated commercial components into its civilian and defence strategies. The United Kingdom has a national strategy that includes civil, defence and commercial components. The United States has taken a similar approach through a national strategy. The U.S. Space Force has prioritized outreach and collaboration with the commercial sector and established offices for that specific purpose.
In budget 2024, Canada announced the formation of a national space council to better integrate civil, defence and commercial sectors. This is a very positive step. A national space council should move forward with a similar approach to that of our allies, and provide a vision, with priorities, for connecting the commercial sector to national strategic objectives. Canada risks falling behind nations that are taking a deliberate approach to implementing a national vision.
Defence procurement in Canada takes too long and is, frankly, no longer fit for purpose in a digital era. The duration of the process often means that a capability defined in an RFP is no longer the most current by the time it is procured. In space, development cycles are faster than procurement. Without fundamentally changing defence procurement for space programs, Canada risks procuring yesterday’s capability tomorrow. Improving dialogue between defence and the commercial sector would be a positive step in accelerating procurement.
The RFP process of procurement, by definition, assumes an outcome, the one defined in the RFP. A better approach for Canada would be to define the problem that Canada is trying to solve and engage with the commercial space sector to discuss how the problem could be solved with existing technologies, or technologies that will be available soon. This approach would dramatically shorten the lag between definition and an in-service solution. The growth of dual-use technologies in space, where there are civil and defence applications for the same technology, means that new technologies are constantly being made available. To maintain a technological edge over adversaries, Canada needs to move faster from concept to in-service capability.
The new defence policy, “Our North, Strong and Free”, outlines Canada’s priorities for NORAD modernization. Canada’s relationship with the United States is its most important relationship, spanning culture, economy and national defence. The NORAD modernization programs are the right ones. Things like cloud-based C2, Arctic satellite communications, over-the-horizon radar, surveillance of space, surveillance from space, and cyber and quantum are essential, but they're simply not moving fast enough. We know that some of these programs are not scheduled to be operational until the mid 2030s. This is simply too long to modernize capabilities that are vital to Canada’s contribution to Canada-U.S. relationships.
In conclusion, Canada’s space industrial base is the driver of innovation for space in Canada. Government has a vital role to play in managing the civil and defence enterprises, and it should better integrate the commercial sector into a national vision. This means more clearly stating what Canada wants to do, making the commercial sector part of that, and connecting the commercial sector to the defence sector in a more deliberate way.
That concludes my remarks, Mr. Chair.