The Canadian Space Commerce Association (CSCA) on August 4th called on all the federal parties taking part in the election to commit to a long-term space plan by the end of 2016. Both the NDP and the Liberals have publicly committed to a long-term space plan, though with no fixed date set.
In a letter published on the CSCA website NDP MP Peggy Nash committed the NDP’s support for a long-term space plan. The comments were echoed again this past weekend in a story published by the Canadian Press (CP).
Nash said “we need a long-term plan that companies can count on that’ll create opportunities and so we’ll work with the (space) sector to develop that plan.”
The CP story also included comments from prominent Liberal MP Marc Garneau in support of long-term space plan and he also “indicated there would be more funding for research and development under a Liberal government”, another issue the CSCA has been advocating.
Conservative MP and Parliamentary Space Caucus Chair, Jay Aspin, had no comment on the long-term space plan according to the CP story.
Disclaimer: Marc Boucher is the Executive Editor of the Canadian Space Commerce Association and editor for SpaceRef Canada.