Natynczyk to head space agency
Surprise move raises fears of ‘militarization’
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper has appointed the country’s former top soldier to head the Canadian Space Agency in a surprise move that has raised questions about whether the civilian program is about to be militarized.
On Friday, Harper announced that former chief of defence staff Walter Natynczyk will become president of the Montreal-based space agency on Aug. 6.
The move was part a package of major shifts in the senior ranks of the public service.
Other announcements included Paul Rochon as the new head of the Canadian International Development Agency and Ron Hallman as incoming president of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. Those appointments are also crucial, in the wake of moves by the government to fold CIDA into the Foreign Affairs Department, and to change the extent of environmental regulatory controls that protect the Canadian habitat.
But it’s the appointment of Natynczyk to the space agency that drew much of the attention Friday. The appointment was unusual on two counts: Natynczyk had a long career in the military before he retired last year and his background was from the army, not the air force; and some of the previous presidents of the space agency had been astronauts such as Steve MacLean and Marc Garneau.
Steven Staples, president of the Rideau Institute, an Ottawa-based think-tank, said he thinks the appointment sends a troubling signal.
“It’s about the militarization of space,” he said. “We’re moving from having astronauts heading our space agency to having generals heading it. I think that people should be asking questions about what the future of our space agency is going to be. And is it going to be more about military uses than scientific exploration.”
Staples said the military has been increasing its spending in areas such as satellite technology, and it’s important to note that two things have now occurred: Gen. Tom Lawson, formerly Canada’s top officer at NORAD, is now Canada’s top soldier, and his predecessor, Natynczyk, has come out of retirement from the military to head the space agency.
“I think this is a pretty strong signal that the government sees the future of Canada’s role in space as being painted with camouflage,” said Staples. “We’re seeing the stars come into alignment for the potential increased militarization of space through the Canadian Forces and the space agency. So I think we have to be careful here that Canada’s involvement in space doesn’t move from a scientific exploration toward the military exploitation of space.”
The space agency, formed in 1989, has a very precise mandate, as outlined on its website: “To promote the peaceful use and development of space, to advance the knowledge of space through science and to ensure that space science and technology provide social and economic benefits for Canadians.”
The appointment of Natynczyk comes at a critical juncture for the agency. Not only has the CSA been buffeted by budget cuts and laid off 30 staff already, it is being asked to trim another $25 million this year, lay off another 30 staff in the next two years, and it’s awaiting word on whether the Conservative government will proceed with a major overhaul recommended by former Conservative cabinet minister David Emerson. There are no more missions for Canadian astronauts on the books.