Canada - discussione ufficiale

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segnalo i link ad un report sugli interessi del Canada nel settore aerospaziale Aerospace Review Report

 

link volume 1 Volume 1: Beyond the Horizon: Canada's Interests and Future in Aerospace – November 2012 e versione in pdf

 

Canada is among the leading aerospace nations in the world. Its aerospace industry is the fifth largest, and the second largest relative to the size of the economy.

The industry generates $22 billion in annual revenues, employs a workforce of 66,000, exports 80 per cent of its output, and is the second most research-intensive industry in Canada. It includes the world’s third largest commercial aircraft manufacturer, Bombardier, and a wide range of global leaders in everything from helicopters to landing gear, simulators to engines, and aerostructures to maintenance and repair services. It is a strategic sector in every sense of the term.

Yesterday’s achievements, however, are no guarantee of tomorrow’s success. The conditions that prevailed over the last several decades are being replaced by new and fundamentally different global trends that are dramatically changing the competitive landscape.

The aerospace business is being reshaped by ascendant powers ready to use the resources and influence of the state to build national aerospace industries. These countries’ actions create a whole new set of challenges for Canada’s aerospace firms.

At the same time, the aerospace supply chain has globalized, as manufacturers such as Boeing, Airbus, and Lockheed Martin shop the world for systems and components, reduce the number of suppliers with which they are prepared to deal, and require these suppliers to invest in the research and design of systems that meet their performance specifications. A new aircraft takes years to develop and bring to market and it can remain in service for decades. A company that is frozen out of a supply chain today can lose sales and opportunities for decades.

Defence expenditures among Canada’s closest allies are shrinking, and with them markets for Canadian military aerospace products. Civil and military maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) activities – which have fuelled a robust aerospace MRO sub-sector in Canada – are increasingly being retained by manufacturers in pursuit of superior profit margins in “after sales service.” Meanwhile, the highly skilled workforce that has been the backbone of Canadian aerospace is aging, raising the spectre of critical skills shortages.

Of course, fundamental shifts also create new opportunities. The market for fuel-efficient aircraft that address environmental and commercial concerns is strong. As the North opens to more transportation and resource extraction, there is a need for aircraft that can fly long distances in harsh and frigid conditions to help locate and develop natural resources, support environmental stewardship, supply communities and facilities far removed from southern population centres, and respond to emergencies. And as security concerns shift to non-conventional threats, there is demand for airborne technology that can provide ever more sophisticated surveillance and the capability to strike with surgical precision.

The Canadian aerospace sector is therefore at a critical juncture, the urgency of which occasioned this Review of aerospace-related policies and programs. If the sector is to continue to thrive and to benefit the country as a whole, all players – companies, academic and research institutions, unions, and governments – must understand and adapt to changing realities. Success depends on developing the technologies of tomorrow and securing sales in a highly competitive global arena.

Private aerospace companies will ultimately drive competitive leadership in the new global economy. But thoughtful, focused, and well-implemented public policies and programs can play a critical role in facilitating this success, by encouraging aerospace innovations involving enormous financial risk and long timelines; improving industry’s access to global markets and supply chains; leveraging government procurements to support industrial development; and helping to build a skilled, adaptable workforce.

This volume recommends that:

1. The list of strategic sectors under the government’s Science and Technology Strategy be expanded to include aerospace and space.

2. The government establish a list of priority technologies to guide aerospace-related policies and programs.

3. The government create a program to support large-scale aerospace technology demonstration.

4. The government maintain Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative (SADI) funding at current levels – less reallocations recommended in this volume – and modify SADI’s terms and conditions to make it a more effective program for stimulating the development of the aerospace and space technologies of the future.

5. The government co-fund a Canada-wide initiative to facilitate communication and collaboration among aerospace companies, researchers, and academics.

6. Application and reporting procedures for programs used by the aerospace industry be simplified and streamlined, especially for smaller companies seeking modest levels of support, and a “one-stop” internet portal be used to provide information on, and links to, those programs.

7. The government endeavour to bring emerging aerospace players into multilateral agreements that create fair, competitive conditions for Canadian aerospace firms, and to clarify rules related to government support for domestic aerospace industries.

8. The government negotiate bilateral agreements with countries where potential market and partnership opportunities are likely to benefit Canada, and the Canadian aerospace and space sectors.

9. Senior-level economic diplomacy be used in a considered and explicit way to encourage foreign governments and companies to give favourable consideration to Canadian aerospace products.

10. The government review export and domestic control regimes to ensure that they are not unnecessarily restrictive and that export permits be issued expeditiously.

11. The government implement a full cost-recovery model for aircraft safety certification.

12. The government co-fund initiatives aimed at strengthening the Canadian aerospace supply chain.

13. When the government seeks to purchase aircraft and aerospace-related equipment, each bidder be required to provide a detailed industrial and technological benefits plan as an integral part of its proposal, and these plans be given weight in the selection of the successful bid.

14. When the government seeks to buy aircraft and aerospace-related equipment, each bidder be required to partner with a Canadian firm for in-service support and to provide that firm with work and data that allow it to strengthen internal capacity and access global markets.

15. Federal programs be used – in collaboration with industry, academia, unions, and provinces – to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics studies generally, and aerospace and space careers specifically, among youth; to help college and university students acquire relevant expertise; to bridge new graduates into the aerospace and space workforces; and to bring skilled aerospace and space workers from abroad when efforts to develop labour supply in Canada do not keep up with demand.

16. Mechanisms be developed to support the efforts of aerospace companies to keep their workforces technologically adept and adaptable through continual up-skilling.

17. The government co-fund – with industry, provinces, and academic and research institutions – the purchase and maintenance of up-to-date infrastructure required for aerospace training and research purposes.

These recommendations are practical, fiscally neutral, and fall squarely within the responsibilities of government in a free market economy. They do not substitute the government’s judgment for that of the private marketplace, nor the public’s money for that of private investors. But they do improve clarity of purpose, remove impediments to performance, and encourage collaboration and partnership. If implemented, they will create conditions for the aerospace sector’s success, reducing areas of vulnerability and allowing Canadian companies to take better advantage of opportunities in the global marketplace.

In an international economic environment where change has been breathtakingly rapid, the greatest risks are posed by complacency, and failure to adapt. Inertia would place in jeopardy one of the country’s most important industrial sectors and along with it, the critical economic, technological, and security benefits that flow from a healthy and competitive aerospace sector.

 

 

link al volume 2 Volume 2: Reaching Higher: Canada's Interests and Future in Space – November 2012 e qui in formato pdf

 

Canada has been in space for 50 of the 55 years humans have been there. Ours was the third country to have a domestically built satellite in space, the first to have its own domestic communications satellite, the first to develop a direct broadcast satellite, and – as all Canadians familiar with the maple leaf on the bicep of the Canadarm will know – a pioneer in space robotics.

Space is becoming ever more essential to modern economies and national security. The digital information revolution that is remaking contemporary societies – bringing into being new means of knowledge production, mobile access to global pools of information and entertainment, and new relations between public authorities and populations – is possible in part because of space-based assets and applications. Satellites are playing growing roles in fields as diverse as precision agriculture, resource extraction, meteorology and climatology, environmental monitoring, the delivery of education and health services, emergency response, border surveillance, the operation of civil and military drones, and the rapid deployment of armed forces. And it is not just big, expensive satellites that are providing such capabilities: smaller, cheaper satellites are becoming increasingly sophisticated, offering public and private sector customers a wider range of options when they buy and use space assets.

For all these reasons, dozens of countries have committed themselves to joining established space-faring nations in placing and operating assets in orbit, while a growing number of investors have taken an interest in commercial space ventures, from satellite launch and on-orbit refuelling services to space tourism and space mining.

Canada – with its vast geography, dispersed population, isolated communities, long coastlines, rich endowment of natural resources, and northern location – has a particular need for space assets and applications. The right mix of satellites and associated ground infrastructure, for example, will be indispensable if the country is to accelerate wealth creation, protect the environment, and assert its sovereignty as the North opens.

Historically, space-related activity has largely been led by governments. Motivated partly by prestige, partly by curiosity, and partly by the desire to support provision of public services, governments have borne much of the cost and risk of space exploration and activity. Where market economies exist, governments have done so in partnership with companies that have received contracts to design and manufacture space assets for public as well as private use. In Canada, the result has been the creation of a $3.4 billion space industry that mploys 8,000 workers across the country, derives 80 per cent of its revenue from satellite communications, and generates half of its revenue from sales abroad, making it one of the most export-oriented space sectors in the world.

By virtue of niche strengths in areas like satellite communications, Earth observation, and space robotics – along with strong global networks and a positive reputation – the Canadian industry is well-positioned to take advantage of emerging opportunities, succeed commercially, and contribute to the public good.

But business as usual will not be good enough. Advancing the national interest through space-based activity and fostering a competitive Canadian space industry will require resolve, clear priorities that are set at the highest levels, and effective plans and programs to translate these priorities into practice. If the Canadian effort in space has been hampered over the past decade, it is partly because there has not been sufficient clarity of purpose, lines of authority among public agencies have been blurred, and processes for procuring space assets and services have failed to adapt to new global realities and the commercial capacity of space firms. In a sector whose undertakings are innovation-dependent, long term, expensive, and complex, it is critical to have concrete goals, predictable funding, and orderly implementation.

Many of the recommendations made in the companion volume on aerospace apply to the space sector as well, from including aerospace and space as priorities in the government’s Science and Technology Strategy, to reviewing export and domestic control regimes to ensure that they are not unnecessarily restrictive, to encouraging youth to consider aerospace- and space-related studies and careers.

This volume focuses on policy and program improvements specific to the space sector. It recommends that:

1. The government explicitly recognize the importance of space technologies and capacity to national security, economic prosperity, and sustainable growth, and that the Minister of Industry bring 10-year, 5-year, and annual government-wide priorities for the Canadian Space Program to the Cabinet Committee on Priorities and Planning, which is chaired by the Prime Minister, for discussion and approval each spring.

2. The government establish a Canadian Space Advisory Council, reporting to the Minister of Industry, with membership from industry, the research and academic communities, provinces and territories, and federal departments and agencies.

3. A deputy minister-level Space Program Management Board be created to coordinate federal space activities, project-specific arrangements be put in place to ensure disciplined project management, and all agencies and departments with a role in the Canadian Space Program be required to report on how they are implementing priorities set out by Cabinet.

4. The Canadian Space Agency’s core funding be stabilized, in real dollar terms, for a 10-year period; major space projects and initiatives be funded from multiple sources, both within and beyond the federal government; and increased international cooperation be pursued as a way of sharing the costs and rewards of major space projects and initiatives.

5. The scope of space projects, project timelines, and performance requirements be finalized as early as possible in the project definition phase.

6. Space asset and service procurement processes be competitive in nature and proposals be assessed on the basis of their price, responsiveness to scoped requirements, and industrial and technological value for the Canadian space sector.

7. Total funding for the Canadian Space Agency’s technology development programs be raised by $10 million per year for each of the next three years, and that it be maintained at that level.

8. Where costs are modest and there is no risk to public safety, the government create conditions conducive to the expansion of space-related commercial activity.

Space has been important to Canada over the last half century, but not nearly as important as it will be over the next half century. Simply put, it will be an essential tool of nationhood for a country that aspires to provide long-term prosperity and security to its people, protect its natural environment, and discharge its international responsibilities.

The question is not whether Canada should be in space, but how public policies and programs can ensure that its presence there, and related activities on the ground, best serve the public interest and help the space sector thrive.

Fundamental to reaching these objectives is a Canadian Space Program characterized by considered and explicit priorities that are implemented through sound governance, solid management plans, modern procurement practices, and greater emphasis on technological and commercial development. Although increased investment in space infrastructure and services may eventually be required, all the elements described above can be achieved in a fiscally neutral way. There is no reason for equivocation or delay.