Investment of $2.6 Million for the Development of Remote Sensing in Quebec

QUEBEC CITY, December 14, 1999 — John Manley, Minister of Industry
and Minister responsible for the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and Bernard
Landry, Quebec Deputy Premier and Minister of State for Finance and the
Economy, announced a financial contribution of $2.6 million for the
implementation of 14 industrial and research projects aimed at enhancing
Quebec’s expertise in the field of remote sensing. The contracts are being
awarded under the Canada-Quebec Agreement on the Development of
RADARSAT Data Applications, announced in June 1998, which earmarked
$6.2 million for investment by the governments of Canada and Quebec to
support projects involving the use of RADARSAT satellite data.

“The support given to these projects is an excellent example of the government
of Canada and of Quebec in setting up partnerships with industry and Canadian
universities in order to pool our expertise, enhance our reputation for excellence
in the field of Earth observation, and encourage the growth of our
knowledge-based industries,” said Minister Manley.

Quebec’s Deputy Premier and Minister of State for Finance and the Economy,
Bernard Landry, said that the support provided by governments under the
Agreement would enable Quebec remote sensing companies to gain a solid
foothold in the market for geomatics and remote sensing products and services,
while opening the door to export of Quebec know-how in these fields.

Under the industrial initiative of the Agreement, six Quebec companies working
in the field of remote sensing are receiving nearly $2 million under the
Agreement’s industrial project support component. These six companies are:
Del Degan Massé et Associés, Géomat International, Hauts-Monts, MIR
Télédétection, Tecsult Foresterie and Viasat Géo-Technologie. This financial
support will help these companies accomplish seven projects totalling more than
$3.7 million. The projects are designed to develop and market new remote
sensing products and services in various fields including: forest management,
hydrography, agricultural practices, land-use planning, and geological and
ecological mapping. The projects also aim to improve the use and distribution of
remote sensing data.

Under the Agreement’s university research support component, seven research
projects will receive financial assistance. These projects are being carried out
under the Concerted RADARSAT Action program (Action concertée
RADARSAT) managed by Quebec’s researcher training and research assistance
fund (Fonds pour la formation des chercheurs et l’aide à la recherche,
Fond FCAR) which operates under the auspices of the Quebec department of
Research, Science and Technology. Grants totalling $630,000 have been made
to seven teams of university researchers, together with satellite data valued at
$80,000, to enable them to conduct remote sensing research projects and to
train student researchers and remote sensing workers. The projects undertaken
by these seven teams (three at Université Laval, two at Université de
Sherbrooke, and 1 each at Université de Montréal and INRS-Eau) will involve
more than 80 researchers and graduate students.

The RADARSAT-1 satellite, launched in November 1995, is Canada’s first
Earth observation satellite. It produces images of the Earth’s surface that are
used to monitor the environment and to manage the planet’s natural resources.

For more information, contact:

Jennifer Sloan
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Industry Canada
Tel.: (613) 995-9001

Andrée Corriveau
Communications Adviser
Office of the Deputy Premier and
Minister of State for Finance and the Economy
Tel.: (418) 643-5270 or (514) 982-2910