Canadians have experienced a surprise move by Stephen Harper, the Canada Prime Minister who has decided to blend military in the Space Agency by appointing Walter Natynczyk, the country’s former top soldier to to be the president of the Canadian Space Agency. This move has left many wondering whether the civilian program in Canada is about to be militarized.

The announcement about the chief of defense staff becoming president of the Montreal based space agency as from 6th August was made by Harper on Friday. There are many major shifts that have taken place in the senior ranks of the public service and this move by Harper is a part of the package. A few other changes have taken place like Paul Rochon being appointed to head the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the new president of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency now being Ron Hallman. All these crucial appointments by the Canadian government are meant to fold CIDA into the Foreign Affairs department and protect the Canadian habitat when the extent of environmental regulatory controls is changed.

All these changes that have taken place are very interesting but the unusual appointment of Natynczyk by Harper to head the space agency has drawn the attention of many due to two facts; Natynczyk who retired last year had been serving in the military for a long time in the army and not the air force and the second fact being that some of the people who had been heading the space agency like Steve Maclean and Marc Garneau were astronauts in their previous careers.

According to the president of an Ottawa based think tank, Rideau Institute the appointment of Natynczyk sends a troubling signal. Steven Staples said this in an interview. “This is militarization of space” he added.

“We are changing from our space agency being headed by astronauts to having it headed by generals. I think the future of our space agency is in question here. It is going to be more of military uses than scientific exploration.”

According to Staples, there has been much spending on satellite technology by the military and two important things that require attention have taken place. Former Canada’s top officer at NORAD, Gen. Tom Lawson is now Canada’s top solder. His predecessor Natynczyk is now heading the space agency from a retired military general.

“It’s a pretty strong signal of the government seeing Canada’s role in space being painted with camouflage in the future. Through the Canadian Forces and the space agency, stars coming into alignment for potential increased militarization of space are being observed. We should be careful about Canada’s involvement moving from scientific exploration to military exploration of space.” Staples said.

The mandate of the space agency which was formed in 1989 is to promote peaceful use and development of space as outlined in their website. Through science, they are obliged to advance space knowledge and ensure Canadians benefit socially and economically from space science and technology.

Natynczyk made a statement to Post media news saying that he was humbled to be appointed as the head of the space agency.”It’s a great privilege to lead the agency and I look forward to the challenges ahead” He added

He made praises to Chris Hadfield an astronaut and space station star for the magic of space that has been introduced to millions of Canadians homes and many homes around the world. His appointment came at a very crucial time in the agency after 30 staff members have been laid off and the agency still waits for another 30 of its staff to be laid off in the next two years. This year the agency has been told to trim another $25 million. A major overhaul that was recommended by David Emerson, a Former conservative cabinet minister is still pending awaiting the government to make a decision regarding the matter.