2021 pre-budget consultations resume

This past August the Liberal government prorogued parliament ostensibly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, they were was also trying to get the WE Charity controversy behind them, without much luck. A consequence of parliament’s prorogation was a delay in the 2021 pre-budget consultations. After much politicking, the consultations began again this week.

Pre-budget background

To note, going into budget 2021, the Canadian Space Agency planned spending was to decrease by 5.7%, from $394.5M to $372.4M. With the pandemic ongoing it’s unclear what if any changes might occur to their budget.

Now that the consultations have resumed, we can now peruse the submitted briefs. This year the Committee wanted to hear from Canadians on how to “restart the Canadian economy, as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.” The Committee provides a template for the briefs which requires submission to include recommendations, usually less than four. There have been 793 briefs posted to date on the Finance Committee website. We scanned all the submissions to find which ones might relate to the space sector. There weren’t many, but here’s what we found.

Telesat

The most prominent brief we found was from Telesat. The brief contains some of what you might expect from the company that wants to build a low Earth Orbit (LEO)satellite communication constellation.

It’s three recommendations are:

1. The Government continues to provide technology neutral funding for broadband infrastructure, prioritizing funding towards the quickest and most affordable technology to reach its universal connectivity objective on an accelerated basis.
2. The Government supports the strategic, high-growth and export-driven space sector as part of the economic recovery strategy – including upcoming procurement opportunities like the Enhanced Satellite Communications Project – Polar (ESCP-P), a shovel ready Team Canada solution to Arctic Communications for the Canadian Armed Forces – positioning Canada as the world leader in the New Space economy.
3. The Government allocates $100M over three years to investigate and develop the application of Low Earth Orbit satellites as part of ongoing efforts to modernize NORAD, the North Warning System and a broader pivot to LEO, providing mission critical solutions to the Canadian Armed Forces.

The first recommendation comes as no surprise and with the recent agreement with the government, it’s largely been dealt with.

The second recommendation is also one that the government is likely to support and is a priority of the Department of National Defence (DND). The ESCP-P program has been a potential project for more than a decade and has evolved over that time. I chuckled in reading “world leader in the New Space economy” language in relation to this recommendation. Telesat’s marketing folk went all out to associate this legacy company with the New Space movement. It doesn’t fit. Sure, Telesat is positioning itself to be relevant going forward. All businesses that have been around for some time need to adapt. But New Space and Telesat, I’m not buying that.

As for the third recommendation, DND has already come out and said they’re in when it comes to looking at small satellites in LEO. In fact Project Grey Jay is set to provide some technology demonstrations in this area. Clearly Telesat wants DND as a customer to its Telesat LEO constellation.

The Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI)

The Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI) is not an organization that we usually associate with the space sector. However, with the growth of DND space capabilities, it’s worth paying attention to this brief.

The first recommendation is the most important one from this organization. It states:

• Recommendation 1: That the Government of Canada honour existing defence spending commitments over the next two years, as described in Strong, Secure, Engaged (SSE) and DND’s Capabilities Blueprint.
  • Recommendation 1a: That the government reprioritize SSE projects based on their impact on the Canadian economy and the Canadian Defence Industrial Base (DIB), as determined by ISED and DND.
  • Recommendation 1b: That the government eliminate inefficiencies in existing procurement processes to accelerate project approvals, in consultation with industry.

The issue of honouring “existing defence spending commitments over the next two years” is critical to the timeline of DND’s Strong, Secure, Engaged strategy. The pandemic is going to make the government think twice about what it had planned on spending for various programs. It’s racking up large deficits. Will SSE or the even the Canadian Space Agency budgets be affected?

The other recommendations from CASDI are:

• Recommendation 2: That the government favour Canadian SMEs and supply chains to ensure that as much defence spending as possible is driven into the Canadian DIB, to the benefit of the Canadian economy and Canadian workers, and that it does so as follows:
  • Recommendation 2a: That the government use the National Security Exception to procure capability where it exists in Canada.
  • Recommendation 2b: That the government assertively use PSPC’s procurement authorities to favour Canadian industry, especially from an SME and supply chain perspective.
  • Recommendation 2c: That the government aggressively apply ISED’s Industrial Technological Benefits/Value Proposition (ITB/VP) policy to all projects valued between $20-100m.
  • Recommendation 2d: That the government contract as much national procurement (i.e. in-service support, maintenance, repair, and overhaul to existing DND fleets) as possible, as more of this investment is likely to remain in Canada.
• Recommendation 3: That the government improve the export control process to eliminate existing and avoid future backlogs. We estimate this could unlock as much as $2 billion worth of business for Canadian firms in the short term as the economy is recovering.
• Recommendation 4: That the government favour Canadian cyber firms as it moves to a more flexible and remote work posture. Identify and match the government’s short-term demand requirements with Canadian cyber industrial capacity.

Coalition for Canadian Astronomy

Kudos to Coalition for taking advantage of the opportunity to submit a brief every year it seems.

The Coalition is composed of the Association of Canadian Universities for Research in Astronomy (ACURA), the Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA) and unnamed industry representatives from “companies involved in major astronomy projects.”

Their three recommendations are;

1. Secure a partnership in the Square Kilometre Array that provides Canada with scientific and technological leadership, and allocate funding of $160 million over the next decade.
2. Provide $250 million over the next decade to pursue CASTOR, a Canadian-led space mission poised to be the successor to the Hubble Telescope.
3. Maintain Canada’s already funded contribution to construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope.

These are all objectives the Coalition has been advocating for some time.

The Thirty Meter Telescope is a project that is already partially funded but has been having issues. CASTOR, the Cosmological Advanced Survey Telescope for Optical and UV Research, is a priority project for the Canadian astronomy community. Supporters include Sarah Gallagher, Science Advisor to the President of the Canadian Space Agency and a professor at Western University. She leads the supermassive black hole science team for CASTOR.

The missing brief

There is one bring that’s missing. It’s from the SME industry organization that doesn’t exist. The demise of the Canadian Space Commerce Association due to lack of funding has left a hole in the space sector. That, combined with the missing in action Aerospace Industries Association of Canada, means there is no voice for SME’s. It’s time that changed.