Vanguard Magazine

When I first started OMX and created our first corporate pitch video, we started it with a 20 second fade-in of the infamous Canadarm. It was absolutely the first thing that came to mind when we went to display Canadian technology in a reel to pitch companies to source more local (at the time, all Canadian) tech. Former Spar Aerospace leaders Stephen Sorocky (whom I am on the board of CCC with), John Wright (OMX Partner, Consultant and Advisor) and Dave Stapely (OMX Board of Director) have all spoken to me with real enthusiasm about their time at the company that developed the infamous Arm. Fast forward to present day, and the need for surveillance, as well as making sense of and protecting the data collected, has never been higher. We have a huge country to survey (including the massive Arctic) and strategic security commit- ments to abide by. I was able to speak to Mike Greenley, newly on the job as MDA Group Presi- dent, about the impact that MDA (which bought the Spar Robotics division) has on Canadians and people all over the world. "Virtually none of MDA's business is di- rect to consumers, and, therefore, our impacts on society, while significant, are largely behind the scenes; however, most Canadians, and many people around the world, rely on systems we have built or services that we provide on a daily basis. Our impact is far reaching and continues to grow and expand as we delivery new in- novative solutions around the world," he said. MDA's radar satellites and airborne radars monitor the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic regions on a daily basis, provid- ing early detection of threats to Canadian security. MDA's Earth-observing systems are important contributors to the moni- toring and measurement of a wide range of environmental and global climate change factors, including, for example, ice coverage and glacier recession, as well as other key industries, such as natural resources, robotics and satellite com- munications. Canada has built world- leading positions in specific areas, such as space-based radar (RADARSAT) and surveillance of space (Sapphire). With the upcoming launch of the RADARSAT Constellation Mission this year, another huge step forward in Canadian capability will become operational. Innovations from consumer markets One theme I have been hearing the past year, especially in discussions with defence technology analysts in the U.S., is that more and more governments should be looking to the consumer markets for in- novations. During the testimony to the HASC Space Posture Hearing in March 2016, in reference to High Capacity Satel- lite (HCS) communication services, it was stated that "technologies and opportuni- ties of greatest significance for national security space today are being paced by advances in the commercial space sector." technology WatCh 36 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018 www.vanguardcanada.com In thIs Issue of Vanguard, the technology focus Is on surVeIllance systems and domaIn awareness. In lIght of thIs, I'Ve decId- ed to explore the sur- VeIllance landscape for tech watch Surveillance By nicole verkindt tech

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