A bill to establish a legislative framework for space launch activities in Canada, including regulation, liability, and emergency authorities. During discussion, some members focused on the bill's lack of specificity and potential for broad regulatory discretion, while others discussed its potential economic impact and the government's past failures to invest in certain sectors.
“You say this bill protects Canada's space sovereignty. But you haven't even defined what a launch is! There's no security check on what they send up. A foreign company could launch a satellite to spy on our north. You're undermining Canada's sovereignty, not protecting it. Don't distract with nostalgia while avoiding the real problems in this bill.”
“The space bill gives too much power to the minister. He decides everything. Private launches will get taxpayers' money. He can play favorites and change the rules for any company. That's not fair. Companies won't invest in Canada if it all depends on what one minister wants. We need real laws, not a minister who picks winners and losers.”
“Canadians want a good space industry. But the government spent $200 million to rent a broken launch pad. The old rules made them be careful with money. Now the Liberals just write cheques to their friends.”
“I want Canada to have a space program. I don't want to give the government a blank cheque. This bill gives too much power to the Minister of Transport. The Minister of Transport doesn't have enough time to do this job. This bill doesn't have clear rules. The rules should be set by Parliament, not the minister. This bill could put taxpayers at risk. This bill could hurt companies. This bill doesn't have enough security safeguards. This bill rewards insiders and lobbyists. This bill could make it harder for businesses to innovate. This bill is bad for Canada.”
“The Conservatives believe in Canada's space history! We had a space act. We had sucesses like Canadarm. Harper wanted space sovereignty. This bill ignores that.”
“I'm piling on this guy. I like that he said the government keeps passing laws to let it ignore laws. I agree the government grabs power by passing laws to give itself discretion. I think tribunals are good because they stop the government from just saying no to space projects whenever it wants. I want companies to be able to fix small errors without going to court. Why would the government want so much power to say no like that?”
“I'm piling on this guy. I agree the bill is bad and sneaks in too much power for the government. I want to change the subject to something else the government did that I don't like. I think the new guy in charge of military money should have been checked for conflicts since he's friends with the Prime Minister and worked with Chinese companies before. I want to make this about the government trusting liberal insiders and not protecting us from China.”
“I agree we need a law about space launches. The minister said the world wants what we have. Some countries don't share our values. The US, Russia, and China lead in rockets and might want to use our north. If we build rocket launch pads but not our own rockets, other countries will launch their rockets from our pads without screening. We need Canadian rockets, not just pads for other countries' rockets and payloads that serve their goals, not ours.”
“I want the government to stop propping up one company with $200 million in subsidies. In a competitive market there could be many launch pads, but now we only have one. We need a properly functioning market to let businesses thrive on their own. If we had that we wouldn't need to pin all our hopes on one company.”
“The old government protected our security in space. The new bill doesn't have a real security test. Why should we trust the government's discretion instead of putting a real law in place? I want to stop hostile foreign actors from launching satellites over our Arctic.”
“I want the government to pass my bill and create the right kind of market for satellite launches. Other people might take advantage if the government doesn't do this.”
“I want you to agree with my party and publish the regulations before we pass this bill. We don't trust your government to write fair rules after the fact.”
“This government keeps trying to give ministers more power to do things without having to ask permission. I don't like that. I want more chances to argue about what the government is doing.”
“The UK space law says space activities must not harm national security. Bill C-28 does not say that. This is a problem. Bill C-28 does not make the government check with our security agencies. The UK law does. Canada's bill has a gap that could put us at risk. The UK bill is better.”
“You're promising to launch a rocket in 2028? That's ridiculous. Unless it's a toy rocket, I don't believe you. Your bill doesn't have any way to review security or protect us from foreign interference. And where are the parts about defense? The important stuff is missing.”
“I'm filling time with kind words about our country's past in space. The actual bill doesn't say much. I don't like that. It gives too much power to ministers to decide things later. I think that's bad. I want clear rules now so investors know what they're getting.”
“I want to stop apologizing and get back to attacking the government. I want to know what's in this bill. Show us the bill. Show us the regulations. We won't vote yes just because you want us to.”