Canada Blocks Sale of Space Tech Company To US

Dave Knott writes "The Canadian federal government has blocked the $1.3-billion sale of the space technology division of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates to Alliant Techsystems, a major US defense contractor. Industry Minister Jim Prentice is quoted as saying he is 'not satisfied' the sale will be a net benefit for Canada. MDA is Canada's leading developer of space-based technology, including the famous CanadArm and the recently installed space station robot Dextre."

Re:Net benefit?

[FooAtWFU]

How is the sale of a Canadian company to US interests ever a net benefit for Canada?

Why exactly should it have to be a net benefit for anyone except McDonald, Dettwiler, and their associates (i.e. whoever the owners of the company may happen to be)? What right exactly does the government have to stop a sale like that? Is "ownership" one of those American concepts like "free speech" that the Canadians don't care for these days?

Re:Why did the US buy Canada's robots?

[anon mouse-cow-aard]

Because even the US doesn't have infinite funds, so when they went begging for help with the shuttle, Canada said, just like Americans would: sure, we'll help, but we want the economic benefits at home. so we built the arm as our contribution to the shuttle program, and now dextre as our main contribution to the space station.

Re:Well, they had a tin ear for public relations..

[JohnWiney]

There is a bunch more to this, which never seems to make the press coverage. Radarsat2 was originally to have been a US-Canada partnership. But then the US realized that it would provide the kind of coverage of the US that the US now has of other countries - something it decided was unacceptable. The US withdrew, refused to supply some key components, and refused to provide the launch. The satellite was redesigned to use alternate components, and launched on a European rocket. So now the US is trying an alternate approach to recovering control of the situation.

Re:Real Reason

[Oktober Sunset]

Hmm, last time the US and Canada had a war, didn't Washington DC get torched? ;)

Re:Well, they had a tin ear for public relations..

[Anonymous Coward]

Thanks, we canadians don't support unchecked free market, it would just leave us raped by large corporations in health care like the good people of the US.

Selling of tax payer funded military and technology knowledge for petty cash to the US, who may then use it to invade states under false pretenses doesn't seem like a patriotic thing to do.