Speaking Points
The Honourable Christian Paradis, PC, MP
Minister of Industry
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec
January 9, 2013
Check Against Delivery
Thank you, Steve, and thanks to Mr. Friedmann for hosting us today. Your operations in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue are truly world-class, and I am not only saying that because we are in my home province of Quebec.
It's fantastic to see the impact that this great Canadian company continues to have on our economy and our future in space. I truly believe that Canada can compete with any country in the world. And I think MDA, and this facility, is a striking example of what Canada can do.
It is this belief that has led our government to be such a strong supporter of Canadian industry and home-grown space technologies. And how could we not be?
This is the industry that launched RADARSAT-1 and -2, which have been serving Canada and the world for 17 years. The industry that helped build the James Webb Space Telescope, which will examine the first stars and galaxies to form after the Big Bang. The industry that is designing and building the rovers, which will one day explore Mars. And the industry that produced the Canadarm, arguably one of Canada's most iconic space exports—next to maybe William Shatner.
All of these achievements have contributed to Canada's reputation for expertise in a highly competitive global environment, and our government is working with industry to ensure that this well-earned reputation continues.
Through strategic investments in R&D and space, our government is fostering industrial innovation. We are promoting commercialization and getting great Canadian ideas to market. And we are positioning Canada in the global supply chain, securing high-paying jobs and continued economic growth.
A prime example is the RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM). The contract signed today will see Canada finalize construction and move into the launch phase of three world-leading satellites.
Not only will this project secure hundreds of high-quality jobs in advanced research, technology development and high-tech construction, but it will also use cutting-edge Canadian technology to the benefit of our country and our economy.
RCM will allow Canada to assert our sovereignty across our entire territory, particularly the North. It will provide complete coverage of our vast country, oceans and coastal approaches, at least once per day, and up to four times daily in the high Arctic.
But this project isn't only about providing Canadians with the means to effectively monitor our own territory. This daily coverage will provide high-resolution, all-weather imagery of 95 percent of the world on a daily basis.
These images will allow us to improve our disaster management both in Canada and globally. Canada will have the ability, day or night, rain or shine, to monitor flooding, oil spills, volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, and changes in the permafrost in northern Canada. With greater monitoring comes better prevention and relief.
RCM will also support ecosystem and water-quantity monitoring, including wetlands and coastal change mapping and monitoring. It will impact fisheries tracking, ice and iceberg detection, and pollution and coastal-zone monitoring. That is in addition to providing satellite images for international security and humanitarian missions.
RCM data will be available to the provinces and territories, as well as to academia and NGOs to support non-commercial purposes—such as on the Internet.
Our government knows that strategic investments like this lead to real opportunities for our companies. Opportunities that create high-quality jobs, that will position Canada for sustained future growth, and that ensure Canada continues to thrive both domestically and internationally.
That is the goal that drove me to launch an in-depth review of the government's space and aerospace programs last year. We must ensure that our investments help drive the industry forward.
We received a number of recommendations from David Emerson, and I am working with my Cabinet colleagues to give the findings the consideration they deserve. This is not a report that is going to sit on a shelf collecting dust.
Our government is committed to supporting our long-term global competitiveness in space. And to do so, we need to work together. We need to innovate to increase our market access, to develop our global supply chains and to invest in the cutting-edge research that keeps us at the forefront of technology.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is an investment in our future—one that not only advances the development of space technologies but also strengthens Canada as a country.
The RADARSAT Constellation marks the next phase of Canada's commitment to use space to our advantage to ensure that Canada has the capability to monitor and protect our entire territory and environment—from coast, to coast, to coast.
It is an exciting and ambitious project, and I look forward to the launch in 2018!
Thank you.
