Thanks.
Good morning. As stated, I'm Mike Greenley, the CEO of MDA Space, Canada's largest space company. It was founded 57 years ago, has 4,000 employees and is headquartered in Canada and growing globally. We're active in the defence sector through the provision of earth and space observation satellites, space-based defence communication satellites and space control capabilities. Through our subsidiary 49North, we provide C4ISR capacity to the joint forces.
I have personally led companies in the Canadian defence sector for the past 35 years. I spent six years as the chair of the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries, and I'm currently the chair of Space Canada, the industry association for Canada's space companies.
MDA Space is a defence prime contractor and prime integrator, meaning that we sign the primary contract with the government, select and manage the supply chain, integrate our own systems, supply our subsystems and components to the platform, and shoulder financial and logistical burdens and risk in order to deliver complex national programs on time and on budget. In our case, that often means we are responsible for launching and operating satellite systems and networks.
I'd like to provide input for the committee's study of the defence industrial strategy in two areas: one, how the strategy should be implemented to achieve industrial expansion and job growth; and two, how procurement governance and ingrained culture need to change in order to realize the benefits of the defence industrial strategy.
The existence of the defence industrial strategy is excellent. We have been seeking policy like this for my entire 35-year career. It is a necessary start for Canada to achieve policy alignment with allied peer nations and to support the development and global competitiveness of our defence industrial sector. Canada now has a national policy stating that there are 10 key areas where the country needs to have sovereign capability and that the Government of Canada's priority is to build this capability in Canada, in partnership with Canadian industry. That is a strong statement and one that will need consistent and rigorous application and attention; otherwise, the strategy is a waste and we will continue to rely on foreign countries.
To ensure that this is achieved, the policy must have three tiers of capability procurement: mature solutions, technology acceleration and technology development.
Mature solutions are being produced today by established defence firms in Canada and should be procured as quickly as possible through strategic partnerships in order to meet the immediate needs of the Canadian Armed Forces. The new strategic framework will be very helpful with that.
Technology acceleration should be targeted at emerging Canadian defence companies with promising technologies in order to bring these to full operational capability and deployment.
Technology development should be targeted at mid- to long-term R and D cycles for next-generation technologies, and in a rapid, competitive process that iterates on solutions that are operational.
These tiers of capability require two road maps: one that maps the Canadian Armed Forces' capability needs in the 10 sovereign capability areas over the short, medium and long terms, and one that maps Canada's industrial capability from fully mature to emerging, with the core skills that can be applied to further capability development.
This multi-faceted strategic partnering with Canadian industry will be challenging for the government in the short term as the Defence Investment Agency acquires its organizational authorities, takes over decision-making from other departments and increases its staffing levels. It will require an unprecedented cultural change for the government, and particularly for the Canadian Armed Forces, when it comes to partnering on and promoting Canadian defence industrial capabilities. This has not occurred in Canada since the Second World War's industrial buildup but must now be reinvigorated.
Canadians and Canada's industrial base are proud of our Canadian Forces, and we massively appreciate the sovereignty and security they provide to our way of life. The CAF has best-in-the-world elite units like the JTF 2, large and growing professional military teams across the army, navy and air force, and—in some cases—emerging capabilities that need to be developed, matured and made more operational. Canadian industry is really proud of our industrial base, and we require that same pride in return: Be proud of the Canadian industrial base and work with us to build Canadian military capability as we move forward into the future.
All public servants, including those at DND and in the CAF, must commit—all the time—to the government's stated policy of engaging with trusted industry leaders in the key sovereign capability areas and developing the next generation with Canadian industry. We are seeing some early signs that this cultural shift is taking shape, but we're also seeing signs of early resistance as procurement teams flinch and revert to the old ways of buying from foreign countries and foreign companies. Executive levels of government must stand in and flow the policy downward in the 10 sovereign capability areas in order to reinforce that building with Canadian firms is mandatory, and that it begins now.
Overall, this is very exciting. This policy is a great opportunity for Canada. We just need to keep our focus on it every single day.
Thanks for the opportunity to speak.