Hélène LeBlanc on Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

With regard to the RADARSAT Constellation program: (a) who is the minister responsible; (b) what are the names and titles of the main senior officials responsible; (c) what are the government’s intentions with regard to continuing the RADARSAT Constellation program and what are the reasons behind the government’s decision; (d) what is the name or names of the senior officials who made the written decision in (c) or the necessary recommendations; (e) did the 2012-2013 budget strategic review have an impact on the RADARSAT Constellation program and, if so, what; (f) was the initial projected timeline for each development phase of the RADARSAT Constellation program followed (based on the “major milestones” outlined in the Canadian Space Agency’s 2011-2012 Report on Plans and Priorities) and, if not, what are the reasons that led to the delays; (g) will the first RADARSAT Constellation satellite still be launched during 2014-2015, as set out in the Canadian Space Agency’s 2011-2012 Report on Plans and Priorities and, if not, what are the reasons that led to the delays, and the projected launch date; (h) will the second and third RADARSAT Constellation satellites still be launched during 2015-2016, as set out in the Canadian Space Agency’s 2011-2012 Report on Plans and Priorities and, if not, what are the reasons that led to the delays, and the projected launch date; (i) what major changes, if any, is the government considering to the initial development plan for each phase of the RADARSAT Constellation (based on the “major milestones” outlined in the Canadian Space Agency’s 2011-2012 Report on Plans and Priorities); (j) what are the titles of the specific cost-estimate documents or the political measures or actions the Minister of Industry referred to when answering the question asked in the House on May 16, 2012, by the Member for Burnaby–Douglas when he replied: “[the government] wants to deliver [the RADARSAT Constellation Mission] in a most cost-effective way”; (k) is the firm Macdonald, Dettwiler and Associates still the main contractor for completing the development of Phase D and subsequent phases of the RADARSAT Constellation; (l) are the firms MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue), COMDEV Limited, Magellan Aerospace, Bristol Aerospace, and MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (Halifax) still the main subcontractors for completing the development of Phase D and subsequent phases of the RADARSAT Constellation; (m) what specific factors are behind the government’s decision to delay signing a contract with or providing the funds earmarked for Phase D to the firm Macdonald, Dettwiler and Associates in the 2012 federal budget; (n) does the government intend to honour the contracts with the main contractor and the main subcontractors or terminate them; (o) if the government intends to terminate the contract, what are the reasons behind this decision; (p) if the government intends to terminate the contract, what will be the costs or penalties incurred by the government, broken down by contract; (q) is the government currently seeking a new main contractor or new main subcontractors to carry out Phase D of the project or any other subsequent phase and, if so, (i) what is the reason behind the decision to seek a new contractor, (ii) has a new main contractor or have new main contractors been selected, (iii) has a new main subcontractor or have new main subcontractors been selected, (iv) has there been or will there be a new call for tenders; (r) if the answer to any of the questions in items (q)(i) to (q)(iv), inclusively, is yes, what is the new distribution in percentage and dollar amounts by province and region of the contracts’ regional industrial benefits; (s) what are the most recent overall estimates of the cost of the RADARSAT Constellation; (t) are these estimates higher or lower than the program’s original estimates, and by how much; (u) what unforeseen situations or amendments to the initial program led to these variances in the Constellation cost estimates; (v) what proportion (in percentage and dollar amounts) of the overall project costs is related to incorporating the Automated Identification System (AIS) into the Constellation; (w) how much money has been allocated to the overall project to date; and (x) how much money has been allocated to Phase D of the project to date?