Longueuil, Quebec
Satellites provide a unique perspective of our planet, support cutting-edge science, and enable applications and services in many areas critical to the health and well-being of Canadians. For 60 years, Canadian experts have been using satellites to monitor our environment from space.
Today, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, and Julie Dabrusin, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced the release of Resourceful, Resilient, Ready: Canada's Strategy for Satellite Earth Observation, which describes how Canada will take full advantage of the unique vantage point of space to address climate change and other key challenges of our time.
Minister Champagne and Parliamentary Secretary Dabrusin also announced an investment of $8 million in 21 organizations across Canada to advance innovative applications that focus on Earth observation challenges and sustainable development priorities. The funding will be delivered through the Canadian Space Agency's (CSA's) smartEarth initiative, designed to challenge Canadian organizations to solve issues using satellite data and help solve tangible problems we face on Earth.
The effects of climate change in Canada are affecting our day-to-day lives with the rising number of floods, droughts and wildfires, as well as melting polar ice caps and rising sea levels. The information we need to study the climate, like methane and carbon dioxide emissions, and changes to sea ice, can be gathered by satellites more effectively than ever before. Today, data from satellites has become critical to taking action on and adapting to climate change.
