Ottawa kicks in $700M for satellite project
OTTAWA — The federal government ended months of uncertainty with an announcement Wednesday that it will provide more than $700 million to fund the final phase of a major satellite project developed by Richmond, B.C.based MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates.
Industry Minister Christian Paradis was on hand at MDA’s satellite systems headquarters in Ste-Anne-deBellevue to help make the announcement.
MDA complained after last spring’s federal budget that it was cutting staffing levels because of a lack of a commitment from Ottawa to fund the final phase of a project that began in 2005.
The Canadian Space Agency, which a year ago said MDA would launch the three satellites in 2014-15, states on its website that the satellites will be launched in 2016-17. However, Wednesday’s news release said the l aunches have been delayed until 2018.
“Our government is ensuring we have the tools to assert our sovereignty, monitor and manage our resources, and keep watch over our vast territory and coastal areas,” Paradis said in a statement.
“The world-class Radarsat Constellation Mission keeps Canada at the forefront of the design and operation of radar satellites.”
There had been media reports that the price tag for the project’s final phase had soared from $600 million to more than $1 billion, though Wednesday’s announcement indicates the government kept the cost closer to the original target.
Critics accused the government last year of abandoning a crucial project, but Paradis insisted in the House of Commons that Ottawa remained committed but was trying to complete the project in a “cost-effective way.”
The three satellites will provide “complete” coverage of Canada’s land mass and marine approaches, as well as cover 95 per cent of the world, the Canadian Space Agency says on its website.
That will assist in disaster management and aid in security and humanitarian missions, according to a government news release issued Wednesday.
The data will help the Canadian military, the Canadian Coast Guard, and other federal departments in monitoring remote areas of the country and all coasts, according to the government.
The satellites will also support ecosystem and waterquality monitoring, wetlands mapping and disaster management both in Canada and internationally.
In Canada the data will be “critical for disaster mitigation, warning, response and recovery,” the news release said. “Disaster types supported include flood monitoring and relief, oil spills, changes in the permafrost in northern Canada, volcano and earthquake warning, and hurricane monitoring.”
The data will also be marketed to commercial users in sectors such as resource management and environmental consulting.