Proposed sale requires attention

To the Editor:

Canadians should be concerned about the proposed sale of the geospatial unit of the Canadian high technology firm, MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates (MDA), to an American company, Alliant Techsystems.

MDA built the well-known Canadarm on the NASA space shuttle and Radarsat 2, an advanced satellite that uses radar to map the landscape and, of particular interest to Canada, the Arctic ice. Not only would this sale transfer the benefits of hundreds of millions of dollars of Canadian taxpayers’ investment in the satellite to American control, but also transfer the proceeds of the sale to MDA shareholders, not to the taxpayers.

For those of us with long memories, government sanction of this sale recalls the federal government’s withdrawal of support for the world leading Avro jetliner passenger jet, and later the Avro Arrow, the supersonic jet fighter that was years, if not decades, ahead of its time.

It almost seems as if the government is embarrassed if Canada takes the lead in some area of technology and humbly wants to move Canada back to square one while the rest of the world surges onward.

The local steering committee of the Council of Canadians expressed its dismay at the proposed sale to our MP, Honourable Scott Brison. To his credit, he wrote a letter dated March 12, 2008 to the Minister of Industry, Jim Prentice, requesting that the review of the proposed sale be extended until more expert witnesses appear before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology.

On March 20, the Minister announced a 30-day extension of the sale decision.

This is a step in the right direction, but Canadians must be vigilant to ensure that the government does not use this reprieve to turn the spotlight away from the proposal and quietly approve the sale later.

Henry M. Bradford

Wolfville, N. S.