Conservatives call on Elon Musk to step in after Liberals provide loan to Ottawa-based satellite operator
- by CTV News
- Sep 21, 2024
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Starlink's coverage map shows service as available in Canada, though its parent company didn't answer questions about service availability in the country's most remote areas.
After Barrett's exchange with Musk, Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne accused the Conservatives of wanting to "sell out our national security."
"When you are in the farther north, you need a reliable network, and you need sovereignty and resiliency in the network. So to suggest otherwise to me is a bit crazy."
He said Telesat would design and manufacture the system in Canada.
"That's the kind of sovereignty and resiliency that we want to see, especially when you're talking about critical military infrastructure that we need also for the defence of the North."
In a statement, the Conservatives stuck to their argument that Musk would be a better bet. Industry critic Rick Perkins said "there's an established, available platform that can provide high-speed internet today, and it wouldn't require billions of taxpayer dollars going into the pockets of Liberal-connected insiders."
The Conservatives also tried to connect the contract to former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, who was appointed as an economic adviser to the Liberals on Sept. 9, four days before the Telesat loan was announced.
Deputy Conservative leader Melissa Lantsman said in the House this week that Carney's "close friend, the CEO of Telesat, got more than two billion of Canadians' tax dollars to build a broadband network that other firms could have built for half that price."
Goldberg confirmed Carney is a friend but said "he had absolutely nothing" to do with the loans.
In announcing the loan, the Prime Minister's Office said Telesat would provide capacity to the defence industry and support NATO and Norad modernization.
Goldberg said the agreement doesn't include specifics about using the system for defence. He said Telesat's constellation can be a "key enabler" for Norad modernization.
In 2022, the Liberal government outlined a $38.6-billion plan to modernize the joint aerospace warning system for Canada and the U.S.
Musk has become an increasingly controversial and political figure in recent years, particularly since he bought the social media platform Twitter, which he renamed X. He has used his large reach to share false information.
In the last week alone, Musk shared a false report that explosives were found near a Donald Trump rally; warned that "unless Trump is elected, America will fall to tyranny"; and questioned why nobody was trying to assassinate President Joe Biden or Vice-President Kamala Harris, after a failed assassination attempt on Trump.
Goldberg suggested there are good reasons to keep such a contract with a Canadian company.
"Space is a highly strategic sector, it's very capital-intensive. If you look around the world, governments are routinely partnering with their domestic operators," Goldberg said.
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