IP: GlobeAndMail: Ottawa to cut U.S. out of satellite project

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

> From: JBUGDEN () ALIS COM
>
> There was also an earlier suggestion that part of the U.S. objection was
> that militarily grade observation photos would now be available
> commercially. Being outside of U.S. control was also stated as a factor.
> Land of the free-ish, home of the paranoid.
> James
> Ottawa to cut U.S. out of satellite project
> Manley takes Radarsat business to Europe 
> HEATHER SCOFFIELD, Parliamentary Bureau, Wednesday, August 11, 1999 
> Industry Minister John Manley, embroiled in a bitter dispute with the United
> States over its defence-technology regulations, yesterday ordered the makers
> of the cutting-edge Radarsat-2 satellite to take all their business to
> Europe.
> Mr. Manley told the Canadian Space Agency and MacDonald Dettweiler and
> Associates Ltd. of Richmond, B.C., to cut out U.S. suppliers and NASA from
> the project, and to turn instead to Europe.
> Launching the $305-million satellite in Europe and buying parts from
> European suppliers, defence experts say, will add at least $100-million to
> the price tag -- and probably much more.
> "Given our historical relationship with the U.S., I do not take this step
> lightly," Mr. Manley said yesterday in a speech in Vancouver. He added in an
> interview: "We're going to work on a European solution."
> In the speech, he also accused the U.S. government of illegally applying
> U.S. rules to Canada.
> [...]
> Ottawa and the company unveiled the partnership with great fanfare in
> February, promoting Radarsat-2 as being so powerful that it will be able to
> take precise pictures from space of items as small as licence plates.
> [...]
> A huge hurdle is the U.S. government's objections to Canada's
> dual-citizenship laws. Under the new defence regulations, U.S. companies are
> unable to obtain export permits to send data, blueprints or products to
> Canadian businesses that employ workers with dual citizenship and who will
> handle the goods or services. For example, if a Canadian firm has a
> Canadian-British engineer working on a project deemed sensitive by
> Washington, the firm is not allowed to deal with U.S. companies or bid on
> U.S. projects.
> But Canada's human-rights laws forbid Canadian companies from discriminating
> against employees on the grounds of nationality.
>
> http://www.globeandmail.com/gam/National/19990811/UMANLN.html