Canadian Space Launch Act

Bill C-28, called the Canadian Space Launch Act, changes the Aeronautics Act to create Canada's first dedicated legal framework for rocket launches and spacecraft re-entries. It broadens the definition of "aircraft" to include launch vehicles and re-entry vehicles, and lets the government define these terms more precisely through regulations. It creates new categories of certified and designated "launch sites" and "re-entry sites" (similar to airports), and gives the Minister of Transport power to issue permits, certificates, and approvals for launch and re-entry activities, as well as to set zoning rules around these sites to keep nearby land use compatible with safe operations, including in cooperation with provincial governments.

The bill also sets up a liability and insurance system for this new industry. The Minister can require companies operating launch or re-entry vehicles to carry minimum financial responsibility (insurance-like coverage) for damage their activities might cause to others, though the Minister can grant exemptions or reduce these requirements in some cases. The government can also choose to indemnify (financially protect) launch and re-entry operators against claims from third parties when it's in the public interest, and conversely can require operators to indemnify the government for damage claims, including those arising under an international space liability treaty. New emergency powers let the Minister order a launch or re-entry stopped for safety or security reasons, and certain launch/re-entry-related decisions are removed from appeal to the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada.

Finally, the bill makes smaller consequential updates to three other laws — the Carriage by Air Act, the Canada Transportation Act, and the Secure Air Travel Act — mainly to clarify that references to "aircraft" or "air service" in those laws do not include launch or re-entry vehicles, keeping the new space activities framework separate from existing aviation rules.

This bill amends the Aeronautics Act to create a licensing, liability and zoning framework for space launch and re-entry vehicles in Canada, administered by the Minister of Transport.

• Definitions by regulation — the Governor in Council (Cabinet) may define "launch," "launch vehicle" and "re-entry vehicle" by regulation, with transitional definitions applying until that happens.
• Minister's indemnification power — the Minister may indemnify owners/operators of launch or re-entry vehicles against third-party liability whenever the Minister considers it in the public interest, on terms the Minister sets; conversely, the Minister may require owners/operators to indemnify the Government of Canada, including for claims under the international Convention on space object liability.
• Financial responsibility regime — regulations may set minimum insurance/financial responsibility levels for operators, and the Minister (or an authorized Transport Canada official) may grant exemptions or adjust the required amount downward where considered in the public interest, with no stated ceiling or criteria beyond that opinion.
• Emergency stop power — the Minister gains authority to order the stopping of a launch, re-entry, or related activity for safety or security reasons, without a stated process or review step in the text.
• Zoning and expropriation-linked designation — Cabinet may declare land a "designated launch site" or "designated re-entry site," including land subject to an expropriation notice, and may make zoning regulations restricting nearby land use based on the Minister's opinion of incompatibility; before restricting land near a *designated* (not yet certified) site, the Minister must show either a failed attempt to reach agreement with the relevant province or a personal opinion that immediate action is necessary.
• Removal of appeal route — permits, notices of determination, and certificates related to launches and re-entries are added to the list of decisions excluded from review by the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada.
• Provincial delegation and offences — the Minister may enter agreements letting a province regulate land use near certified/designated sites, and contravening such provincial rules is made an offence punishable on summary conviction, with no penalty amount specified in this text.