Satellite debris that fell onto Saskatchewan farmland has prompted Senator Paula Simons to call for a broader Canadian discussion about orbital congestion, liability, and the governance of low-Earth orbit.
Simons launched a Senate inquiry after learning that a Saskatchewan farmer had found large pieces of material from a satellite launch in his field. She said some pieces were roughly the size of a car door. A second Saskatchewan farmer later found smaller debris.
The incidents caused no reported injuries, but Simons said they exposed uncertainty over what happens when foreign commercial space hardware lands in Canada and who is responsible for responding.
“There didn’t seem to be any very clear rules about who does what,” Simons told Energi Media.
Simons said current international space law was largely developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when the United States and Soviet Union dominated space activity. The system was not designed for a commercial era in which private companies can deploy large satellite constellations.
She cited research by University of Regina astronomer Samantha Lawler and University of British Columbia researchers Michael Byers and Aaron Boley, whose work has examined orbital congestion, re-entry and the environmental risks associated with large numbers of satellites.
Simons said the probability of large debris striking a home is extremely small, but risks increase as more objects are launched and eventually re-enter the atmosphere. She also raised concerns about aircraft collisions, atmospheric pollution from material burning during re-entry and congestion in heavily used orbital zones.
The inquiry has also expanded into questions of satellite sovereignty. Canada relies heavily on satellite communications for northern and rural communities, while private systems such as Starlink have become increasingly important to connectivity.
Simons argued that Canada needs more domestic space capacity while avoiding excessive dependence on foreign commercial providers.
She also identified a governance problem inside Ottawa. Responsibility for space policy is distributed among Global Affairs Canada, the Canadian Space Agency, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Transport Canada, the Canadian military and other agencies.
“No one is looking at the entire elephant,” she said.
Simons said a first step should be bringing the relevant federal agencies together to develop a coherent Canadian position, followed by work with other middle powers and through the United Nations on updated international rules.
At the same time, she cautioned against treating satellites only as a problem. Low-Earth orbit systems could play an important role in improving internet access across rural and northern Canada, including supporting increasingly connected agricultural equipment and other digital technologies.
The policy challenge, she said, is preserving those benefits while managing the growing risks created by a more crowded orbital environment.
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