Current approaches to outer space are “heavily Western, state-centric, militarized, masculinized, and colonial,” and encourage practices that are “racist, exploitative, elitist, and environmentally destructive.” 

That’s according to an intersectional feminist report on outer space bankrolled by the Department of National Defence to the tune of $32,250 in taxpayer cash. 

“We have lots of problems down here on Earth and maybe we should focus on getting those fixed before we spend tens of thousands of dollars talking about how to talk about space,” said Kris Sims, Alberta Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “I think a lot of Canadians can think of a lot of causes that need $32,250 more.” 

The CTF obtained a copy of the DND funding agreement with the report authors through an access-to-information request. 

The CTF also reviewed a copy of the report.

The report trumpets the need for feminist and decolonial approaches to space security and space exploration. 

“Terms such as ‘mankind,’ ‘astronauts and envoys of mankind,’ ‘man’s entry into outer space,’ ‘manned and unmanned stations of the moon,’ ‘manned spacecraft,’ and ‘man-made’ are… gender-biased,” according to the report. 

Despite concern over “gender-biased” language, the funding proposal notes “women and other genders are not, for the most part, present in outer space.” 

The report claims “colonial-based terms like ‘exploration’ and ‘conquest’… normalize violence and exploitation” by depicting space as a “hostile and desolate environment that is unpeopled/inhuman and controlled so it can provide an extractable resource.” 

“Indigenous perspectives” imbedded in “spirituality, astrology, and cosmology, the last of which views celestial bodies in space as animated beings and not mere objects” should be better reflected in approaches to outer space, according to the report.

The report also advocates for “alternatives to dominant, colonial ways of knowing.”

The report was produced by Project Ploughshares, which describes itself as a “Canadian peace research institute” and an “operating division of the Canadian Council of Churches.” 

Project Ploughshares, based on the University of Waterloo campus, previously received four other federal research contracts totalling $155,875, according to the funding proposal.

The project was pitched to DND as an opportunity to “draw on feminist/gendered analysis to apply a [Gender-Based Analysis] understanding to Canadian and international space security policy.” 

The project included briefings and training with representatives from DND, the Canadian Armed Forces and Global Affairs Canada, as well as a separate “briefing and Q&A session for government officials,” according to the records. 

“Many voices have long been absent from space security discussions, including those of women; those from the Global South; black, Indigenous, and other people of colour (BIPOC); and 2SLGBTQ+ individuals,” according to the report. 

“It took the equivalent of a neighbourhood’s worth of income tax bills to pay for this study,” said Sims. “Would any of those families have ranked this report among their 100 concerns? It’s time to stop spending taxpayers’ money on studies like this.”