And Canada is officially back in the space race, with the announcement today of two billion dollars over twenty-four years going to aerospace companies that will help to build the Lunar Gateway project.

For those who have not followed this project, Lunar Gateway is a plan by NASA to place a manned space station in polar orbit around the Moon, and to use it as a staging area for future missions to Mars or beyond. It will take two decades to complete, but when finished will provide both a laboratory for space based experiments and an intermediate destination and supply depot for longer missions to other planets and objects in our solar system.

Canada is already a world leader in many areas of science and technology, and this announcement will only make us stronger. Congratulations to the government for recognizing the value of science and technology in the twenty-first century!