Bill C-28, Canadian Space Launch Act · Second reading · now at second reading in the House Where it stands →
What Bill C-28 would do
The bill would create legal rules under the Aeronautics Act for space launches and re-entry activities in Canada. It would expand regulation powers over launch vehicles, re-entry vehicles, and the operation and zoning of launch sites. The bill would also let the Minister of Transport indemnify operators for third-party damages in specific public interest cases, or require operators to indemnify the government. Additionally, it would give the minister emergency powers to stop launches for safety or security reasons.
Loses points more than most for Thanks×2.2Vague promise×1.8Anecdote×1.8Loses points less than most for Off point
Karim Bardeesy, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry
LiberalLib
“Canada has everything it needs for the aerospace sector, except the ability to launch its own rockets. This bill will help Canada build that ability. That will bring in more money and more experts.”
“Mr. Speaker, I welcome my colleague’s question and his work. He represents an economic region where the aerospace and aviation sectors are very important and where we can train the students who are the future of these sectors. In exactly the way the hon. member described, in a continental context with our peers and with our partners that we do this essential work with, we have all the ingredients, except we lack the sovereign launch capability. This sovereign launch capability that we would be building through our sectors and through this legislation would attract yet more investment, yet more expertise and yet more excitement, and it is all part of the work we need to do to have sovereign launch.”
Official Hansard
Mr. Speaker, I welcome my colleague’s question and his work. He represents an economic region where the aerospace and aviation sectors are very important and where we can train the students who are the future of these sectors. In exactly the way the hon. member described, in a continental context with our peers and with our partners that we do this essential work with, we have all the ingredients, except we lack the sovereign launch capability. This sovereign launch capability that we would be building through our sectors and through this legislation would attract yet more investment, yet more expertise and yet more excitement, and it is all part of the work we need to do to have sovereign launch.
“The government is wasting taxpayer money on space projects. Canada pays 20 million dollars a year for a concrete pad on a dirt road, and another company got over two billion dollars but cannot pay its debts. I want the member to explain this.”
“Mr. Speaker, I would like to touch a little on theory and reality. We heard my colleague across the way talk about launch capability and how it is going to create jobs and all this good stuff, but then we actually have reality. The reality is that Maritime Launch Services leased to Canada for $20 million a year a concrete pad, which is being leased for $13,000 a year. Our Canadian taxpayers are on the hook for $20 million a year. It is a dirt road with a concrete pad. The other reality is that Telesat, which got over $2 billion from Canadian taxpayers, is now running from creditors. I would like to hear comments from the member on this huge mismanagement of Canadian taxpayer dollars.”
Official Hansard
Mr. Speaker, I would like to touch a little on theory and reality. We heard my colleague across the way talk about launch capability and how it is going to create jobs and all this good stuff, but then we actually have reality. The reality is that Maritime Launch Services leased to Canada for $20 million a year a concrete pad, which is being leased for $13,000 a year. Our Canadian taxpayers are on the hook for $20 million a year. It is a dirt road with a concrete pad. The other reality is that Telesat, which got over $2 billion from Canadian taxpayers, is now running from creditors. I would like to hear comments from the member on this huge mismanagement of Canadian taxpayer dollars.
Loses points more than most for Thanks×2.2Vague promise×1.8Anecdote×1.8Loses points less than most for Off point
Karim Bardeesy, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry
LiberalLib
“We need this bill so Canada can launch its own rockets. Companies want more options to get to space, and our military needs this ability too. This law will help build that industry and bring in new investment.”
“Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question, but I would advise that the demand for this kind of capability is exactly why we are responding with this legislation. Here is what Kepler had to say: “It is essential that Canada’s sovereign launch capability is globally competitive so it can meet domestic Department of National Defence requirements while also serving global launch demands.” Eutelsat also relied on American firms and facilities to launch 20 satellites. It said that it “always welcomes the prospect of new entrants into the launcher market to increase the options for access to space.” It is the building up of supply that we are doing, in part through the legislation we are enabling here today, that enables the sovereign launch capability we have and also attracts new investment.”
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question, but I would advise that the demand for this kind of capability is exactly why we are responding with this legislation. Here is what Kepler had to say: “It is essential that Canada’s sovereign launch capability is globally competitive so it can meet domestic Department of National Defence requirements while also serving global launch demands.” Eutelsat also relied on American firms and facilities to launch 20 satellites. It said that it “always welcomes the prospect of new entrants into the launcher market to increase the options for access to space.” It is the building up of supply that we are doing, in part through the legislation we are enabling here today, that enables the sovereign launch capability we have and also attracts new investment.
“The Liberals are giving 20 million dollars a year to a private company with ties to their party for a simple concrete launch pad in Nova Scotia. The government could have built this pad itself for far less money instead of making its friends rich.”
“Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member from Taiaiako’n—Parkdale—High Park for sharing his time with me today. I am surprised the Liberals have chosen to bring up space exploration today, given the fact that over the last week, we have seen the concrete pad out in Nova Scotia. I am sure we have all seen the picture by now. I want to thank Marie Lumsden from the Hamilton Examiner for the great article that has given me the information for this speech here today. The Liberals are true to form. We have seen over and over again where they have worked very hard to enrich their friends. We have seen the clam scam. We have seen the ArriveCan app. We have seen the WE Charity scandal. We have seen the Chuck Rifici and the marijuana “pump and dump” schemes. We have seen the Brookfield stock go up over time. We have seen the green slush fund. We have seen the Randy Boissonnault scandal. We have seen this over and over again. In the fallout of the news being reported around this gravel driveway and a concrete pad out in Nova Scotia, and a government contract for $200 million, the government decides this is the week we should be talking about space exploration, or participation in space. I am excited that Canada participates in space. I remember growing up being super proud of the Canadarm. Does everyone remember the Canadarm? I remember being excited about that, going to the Edmonton Space and Science Centre, watching the spacewalk on the IMAX and things like that, and also about the International Space Station and our participation in that. The Liberals want us to talk about that today, about our Canadian participation, how we should be so proud that Canada participates in space and that we should have our own Cape Canaveral. What we saw in the news last week is no Cape Canaveral. It is a concrete pad. Now, I poured a bit of concrete last summer, and I can say that concrete is pretty expensive by the cubic metre. It was about $300 a cubic metre back home. I can imagine that is a pretty expensive place, and the company is paying $13,500 a year to lease the land that this pad is on. We know that. I would give them a generous amount. I have paid a few contractors in my time for concrete as well, so I will be generous with it. Let us say some Caterpillar work was done there and some gravel trucks came and brought some gravel. It cost maybe $1 million. I think that is a pretty generous amount. Everybody made some good money building that pad. The Canadian government could have done that. The Canadian government could have leased the land from the Nova Scotia government, spent $1 million and built the concrete pad. I think that would be an acceptable thing for us to have done, given that the Canadian government owns most of the airports in Canada. I do not know if everyone knows this, but most of the airports in Canada are owned by the Canadian government. Then private companies, generally not-for-profits, operate these places, and they pay the Canadian government for the operations. Members can imagine being flabbergasted that this has been brought up here, that we are paying for the privilege of being able to maybe one day use this concrete pad to launch a rocket somewhere. We are paying $20 million a year for the privilege of maybe being able to use that concrete pad. That is not all. The Liberals really know how to make their friends happy: by backdating this contract a whole year and paying them back an entire year. Marie Lumsden looked into some of the people involved. Lo and behold, a Liberal premier is on the board of directors of this company. Wow, look at that, Liberals feeding their friends. Members may think that is kind of interesting. There is a partnership. All of this was brought up by the partnership from—”
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member from Taiaiako’n—Parkdale—High Park for sharing his time with me today. I am surprised the Liberals have chosen to bring up space exploration today, given the fact that over the last week, we have seen the concrete pad out in Nova Scotia. I am sure we have all seen the picture by now. I want to thank Marie Lumsden from the Hamilton Examiner for the great article that has given me the information for this speech here today. The Liberals are true to form. We have seen over and over again where they have worked very hard to enrich their friends. We have seen the clam scam. We have seen the ArriveCan app. We have seen the WE Charity scandal. We have seen the Chuck Rifici and the marijuana “pump and dump” schemes. We have seen the Brookfield stock go up over time. We have seen the green slush fund. We have seen the Randy Boissonnault scandal. We have seen this over and over again. In the fallout of the news being reported around this gravel driveway and a concrete pad out in Nova Scotia, and a government contract for $200 million, the government decides this is the week we should be talking about space exploration, or participation in space. I am excited that Canada participates in space. I remember growing up being super proud of the Canadarm. Does everyone remember the Canadarm? I remember being excited about that, going to the Edmonton Space and Science Centre, watching the spacewalk on the IMAX and things like that, and also about the International Space Station and our participation in that. The Liberals want us to talk about that today, about our Canadian participation, how we should be so proud that Canada participates in space and that we should have our own Cape Canaveral. What we saw in the news last week is no Cape Canaveral. It is a concrete pad. Now, I poured a bit of concrete last summer, and I can say that concrete is pretty expensive by the cubic metre. It was about $300 a cubic metre back home. I can imagine that is a pretty expensive place, and the company is paying $13,500 a year to lease the land that this pad is on. We know that. I would give them a generous amount. I have paid a few contractors in my time for concrete as well, so I will be generous with it. Let us say some Caterpillar work was done there and some gravel trucks came and brought some gravel. It cost maybe $1 million. I think that is a pretty generous amount. Everybody made some good money building that pad. The Canadian government could have done that. The Canadian government could have leased the land from the Nova Scotia government, spent $1 million and built the concrete pad. I think that would be an acceptable thing for us to have done, given that the Canadian government owns most of the airports in Canada. I do not know if everyone knows this, but most of the airports in Canada are owned by the Canadian government. Then private companies, generally not-for-profits, operate these places, and they pay the Canadian government for the operations. Members can imagine being flabbergasted that this has been brought up here, that we are paying for the privilege of being able to maybe one day use this concrete pad to launch a rocket somewhere. We are paying $20 million a year for the privilege of maybe being able to use that concrete pad. That is not all. The Liberals really know how to make their friends happy: by backdating this contract a whole year and paying them back an entire year. Marie Lumsden looked into some of the people involved. Lo and behold, a Liberal premier is on the board of directors of this company. Wow, look at that, Liberals feeding their friends. Members may think that is kind of interesting. There is a partnership. All of this was brought up by the partnership from—
“I want to talk about corruption linked to the space launch site in Nova Scotia and the directors of the company behind it.”
“Mr. Speaker, I was just talking about the launch corruption into the stratosphere pad out in Nova Scotia. We then discovered, through the work of Marie Lumsden, about some of the directors of the company—”
Official Hansard
Mr. Speaker, I was just talking about the launch corruption into the stratosphere pad out in Nova Scotia. We then discovered, through the work of Marie Lumsden, about some of the directors of the company—
