The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) held whole-of-government webinar today to discuss Canada’s Space-Based Earth Observation (SBEO) strategy. The whole-of-government approach which includes participation by 16 departments, a record for any Canadian space endeavour, is meant to learn from past programs and better position Canada with an eye towards future government needs, while creating commercial opportunities for industry. The balance between government needs and industry wants, is an ongoing issue that is definitely a work in progress.
By our count over 130 people attended the event which was hosted by the CSA, but which included speakers from Environment and Climate Change Canada and Natural Resources Canada.
The three primary speakers at the event were Eric Laliberté, Director General, Space Utilization, Canadian Space Agency, David Harper, Director General, Monitoring and Data Service Directorate, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Eric Loubier, Director General, Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation, Natural Resources Canada. Manon Larocque, Director General (Acting), Policy, Canadian Space Agency did not give a presentation, however she did participate during the Q&A session and was called upon many times.
The process of creating a new national strategy for SBEO has been ongoing and included a three day National Forum on Earth Observation from Space held in November 2018. The consultation has not gone according to plan with the ongoing pandemic having forced the government to modify the process. This event was meant to be a part of larger in-person event. However, as with so many things in 2020, the process has had to adapt to the current circumstances.
The event itself ran for a little more than two hours with an hour set aside for questions from participants. Following the webinar and a lunch break, the four Director Generals had set aside several hours in the afternoon for virtual private meetings with participants.
Laliberté opened up the webinar discussing the reasons behind this event including stressing that the engagement with stakeholders is an ongoing process and that it will continue even after decisions and opportunities are announced. He did state early on that “we’re closer to taking action.” But what actions, and the timeline, are questions he didn’t answer even when it was asked during the Q&A by several participants. What we do know, and this is from David Harper who addressed the timeline question, is that there could be early investments in 2021. Specifically, Harper said “we’re certainly looking at gathering input I would say, and developing a strategy that can be released that’s nested within the space strategy in the very near term with with proposed early investments, as early as 2021.”
He then went on to stress that what’s being developed is very much a long-term strategy and like what Laliberte said, it’s learning process and ongoing. He also stressed that the SBEO strategy is being developed at time where they are “in a very competitive environment for resource demands on the on the federal government.”
Based on his comments, and Laliberte non-answer to the specific outcomes and timeline questions, it seems that government representatives don’t want to talk timelines or outcomes, yet. That seems to be in part a decision driven by no final decisions on what the strategy should be. Without a plan in place it’s hard to talk funding, though by now there must have some idea of what the options are, and what they’re learning towards. Another factor is that of the President of the CSA, Lisa Campbell, has been on the job less than a month. No doubt she’s still getting the lay of the land.
Why now?
Laliberté spent some time discussing the why now for an SBEO strategy? The answer to that question is in part based on feedback over the past two years.
Laliberté pointed out that Canada “lags” behind its parters when it comes to an Earth Observation strategy. And then he brought up some other interesting key points. He said we “need to create a compelling story about the why now. The time is now to strategically plan for Canada’s future as a leader. To build back better from this pandemic impact that we’ve all suffered, and the time is now to better monitor and understand Canada’s environment, which is changing at a rapid pace, even faster than what we had anticipated than in the past. The time is now to the decrease our critical dependence on international satellites, on international satellite data and provide our own authoritative data.”
He then went to say we consider this a time for Canada to contribute internationally. And by this he meant a Canadian led SBEO mission, perhaps missions, as Canada has relied for the most part on other nations satellites and satellite data. Certainly Canada has the respected heritage of synthetic aperture satellites from RADARSAT-1 through the current RADARSAT-2 and RADARSAT Constellation Mission. All too often though Canada has relied on its international partners.
To reinforce his point Laliberté talked about an incident that involved Australia. Like Canada, Australia relies on others for SBEO. He recounted how Australia lost access to US satellite weather for a few days due to a cyber attack. Laliberté point? National security is important consideration for any SBEO strategy which is why the Department of National Defense is a key partner in this effort.
By what was said at today’s event, it seems that it may still be some time before a full SBEO strategy is in place. If stakeholders can work with the 16 government departments to make a compelling case for a long-term SBEO strategy, then like Canada’s commitment to the Moon, it will get the funds.
Related: