Space-based Earth Observations: The Government of Canada wants to hear from you!

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is seeking input from interested stakeholders to support and inform the Government of Canada’s commitment to charting a new course for Space-based Earth Observations (SBEO). The intent of this new course of action is to strengthen federal services and provide the data and landscape necessary for industry, academia, and governments across Canada to thrive while fostering a generation of world class experts in all the technologies and sciences related to the field.

To facilitate this process, external stakeholders are invited to comment on an Engagement Paper titled “Space-based Earth Observation – 2020” that can be found here (English) and here (Français). In particular, the Government of Canada (GoC) is most interested in stakeholder specific feedback in relation to six (6) key questions:

1. From your stakeholder perspective, what are the priority actions for advancing SBEO capabilities in Canada?
2. How can Canada maximize the potential of SBEO data to solve everyday problems for Canadians?
3. What would allow Canada’s commercial SBEO sector (upstream, midstream, or downstream) to reach its full potential in strengthening the economy and creating jobs?
4. What can be done to facilitate a strong role for SBEO in maintaining Canada’s leadership in scientific and research excellence?
5. Are the SBEO best practices identified in this document aligned with your perspective as a stakeholder in the SBEO landscape?
6. Given your position as a SBEO stakeholder, how do you see yourself contributing to, or benefiting from, addressing the challenges outlined in this paper?

The Government of Canada welcomes input from all SBEO stakeholders (external to the GoC).

If you have additional details in which to share – please send your responses to the following email address: earth.observation.terre@canada.ca

Recognizing that SBEO benefits are whole-of-society and the role the stakeholder community can play in helping the GoC meet its’ objectives, it is vital to now engage the broader SBEO stakeholder community in Canada in this discussion. While there is no set deadline to provide feedback on the Engagement Paper and/or any one or more of the questions, now is a timely opportunity to provide stakeholder perspectives.

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