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
>