Conservatives Do the Right Thing; Satan to Open Ski Resort

I honestly didn't think it would happen, but here it is: Industry Minister Jim Prentice has decided to block the sale of MacDonald, Dettwiler to a U.S. arms company. And a whole week early, too!

Ottawa rejects space firm's sale to U.S.

OTTAWA — Federal Industry Minister Jim Prentice confirmed Thursday morning that he has taken the unprecedented step of rejecting the planned $1.3-billion sale of Canada's leading space company to U.S. interests, concluding that the deal would not be in the best interests of the country.

Mr. Prentice's office issued a brief statement acknowledging that, as The Globe and Mail reported, he wrote to Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) on April 8, to advise them that, "based on the information received at this time, he is not satisfied that the proposed sale of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) to ATK is likely to be of net benefit to Canada."

Under Canada's investment-review law, the company has 30 days to make new arguments to the minister, and Mr. Prentice must then confirm his rejection. But Mr. Prentice's move signals his intention to take the unprecedented step of blocking a major corporate takeover, in an issue that has been fraught with controversy as opponents argued that the sale of MDA could impair Canadian sovereignty.

I'm still suspicious, especially when Alliant is feigning ignorance of the minister's decision, but with the amount of public scrutiny on this it would be virtually impossible for Prentice to let the deal go through at this point.

Right?

Tomorrow Is Another Day

Shorter Jim Prentice on the MacDonald Dettwiler sale: "I don't feel like deciding today. I think I'll decide later, after everyone's stopped paying attention."

Feds delay ruling on sale of Canada's top space firm

OTTAWA -- In the face of mounting domestic pressure, Industry Minister Jim Prentice is holding off government approval of the sale of Canada's top space company and a multi-million dollar taxpayer-funded satellite to a U.S. weapons maker, CTV News has learned.

Government insiders say Prentice has ordered another 30-day review of the proposal sale that has been strongly denounced by Canadian scientists, editorial writers, and Calgary Conservative MP Art Hanger.

Remarkable how many of the comments on that article are drawing parallels with the Avro Arrow. They have some valid points, but I'm looking more at parallels with AECL. There is an emerging pattern of hiving off the most successful and profitable divisions of public companies or (like MDA) companies with significant public investment, and selling them off for a quick profit. Then the government can point to what's left and say, "See? Why should we keep throwing money at such an unprofitable enterprise?"

Kinda like eating all the carrots and croutons and bacon bits out of your salad, and then saying you don't like salad.

Anyway, it'll be interesting to watch Prentice and Harper squirm their way out of this one, because I have no doubt they are determined to see MDA sold, one way or the other.

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UPDATE: This bit from the Globe & Mail really says it all, doesn't it?

"Shareholders were expecting a windfall from this transaction. At this point it may not happen," Dundee Securities Corp. analyst Richard Stoneman said yesterday.

The controversy has placed Mr. Prentice in the delicate position of having to balance pro-business considerations with concerns about Arctic sovereignty and military security.

Hmm... shareholder profits versus national security and sovereignty. Profits, sovereignty... profits... sovereignty... the corporation... the country...

Yeah, I can see that being a tough one, Jim. Let me know when you work it out.

Art Hanger: Defender of Canada's Public Interest?!

It seems critics of the upcoming sale of Canadian space tech company MacDonald Dettwiler to a U.S. weapons firm finally have a champion in the House of Commons.

Someone willing to stand up for Canada's sovereignty. Someone ready to go toe to toe with Alliant's new politically connected lobbyist. Someone who won't stand idly by and watch the public interest be sold out to corporate greed.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... Art Hanger.

Yeah. That Art Hanger.

Tory MP calls sale of space firm 'a waste'

OTTAWA - A prominent Conservative MP says allowing Canada's top space company and a multi-million-dollar taxpayer-funded satellite to be sold to a U.S. firm would be a betrayal of the public interest.

Calgary Northeast MP Art Hanger says the Conservative government has the means to stop the sale of MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates of Richmond, B.C., to Alliant Techsystems of Minnesota.

"It is a waste of your money and a betrayal of the public interest," Mr. Hanger writes in a weekly newspaper in the Calgary area. "It's about time Canada stop playing the nice guy at the expense of our own security and sovereignty --not to mention our own research and development capacity."

I honestly don't know what to do with this. It must be some sort of trick.

Whatever his motives, I'm glad to see somebody in Parliament is taking a stand on this, because it was starting to look like this issue was going to get lost in the frenzy over the ScamGate Affair^TM. It's come up a couple of times in QP over the past few days and is being discussed in committee, but by and large it's been ignored on the 6 o'clock news - which is still, sadly, the sole source of information for most Canadians.

Let's hope that Art Hanger's sudden, inexplicable, and very public interest in this despicable deal will inspire Mr. Prentice to get off the fence and kill it once and for all.

(For more background on the MDA / Alliant deal, read the excellent two-part series from the Ottawa Citizen: Sovereignty For Sale and Lost In Space.)

Thursday News Round-Up

Those pesky Conservatives have sure been busy busy busy over the past couple of days. Where to begin...

CANADA: LEADING THE WAY IN FOLLOWING GEORGE BUSH

Here we go. Remember a couple of days ago when Finance Minister Jim Flaherty inexplicably took it upon himself to criticize Quebec for trying to bring in tough new California-style greenhouse gas emission standards?

Now we know why:

Ottawa moves to emulate U.S. on new fuel mileage standards

OTTAWA — Canada's auto makers as well as consumers are keen to see new fuel economy standards applied on a national basis, says federal Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon.

"Industry and the average Canadian, they all want to have a national standard," Mr. Cannon said this morning at the unveiling of a 60-day consultation process aimed at developing a fuel-economy target by 2020.

The goal is a target that "achieves at a minimum" recently enacted legislation in the U.S. Congress calling for auto makers' fleets to average 35 miles per gallon, or 6.7 litres per 100 kilometres, by the year 2020.

Mr. Cannon conceded that some provinces have struck out with their own fuel-economy programs but said he believes a common standard can be worked out in the talks.

Quebec, for example, has said it wants to move to more stringent standards such as those being proposed in California

But Mr. Cannon pointed out that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched a court challenge against the California measures and that it makes more sense to use the U.S. Congress legislation as the benchmark. The new U.S. standard falls well short of the regulations proposed by California.

One would hope that Harper wouldn't take it any further than simply suggesting that provinces stick with the federal standards, but given his recent fondness for draconian, bully-boy measures whenever his will is defied, I wouldn't put it past him to try to force the issue.

In which case Quebec can do what Arnie and the State of California are doing: sue the bastards.


MORE CNSC FALLOUT

The National Post (The National Post?!?) has published an op-ed piece that soundly criticizes Harper and Lunn and suggests what we bloggers have been saying all along - that this has nothing to do with the 'health and safety of Canadians' and everything to do with getting Keen out of the way of the government's plans to privatize AECL.

We also have op-eds in the Star and the Globe and Mail saying essentially the same thing. But of course most people don't read newspapers or blogs and there's nothing about the privatization scheme or a profit motive in any of the 30 second news 'stories' on the TV, so chances are nobody will notice.

BTW, correct me if I'm wrong, but it occurs to me that 11:00 p.m. is the optimal time to put out a press release if one wants to ensure that it does NOT make it onto the front page of the paper the next morning. Funny, that.


NEW WRINKLE IN CANADARM SALE

Last week's story about MacDonald, Dettwiler's sale of its satellite and space technology division to U.S. firm Alliant Techsystems (ATK) managed to leave out this little nugget:

The company they sold this stuff to makes, among other things, LANDMINES.

Aside from the obvious ethical problems with having technology funded by Canadian tax dollars being sold to a major arms manufacturer, there's the little matter of that anti-land mine treaty Canada signed on to that might just make the whole deal illegal.

ATK derives more than half of its $4 billion US in annual revenue from military contracts, including cluster bombs, depleted uranium rounds and landmines.

In December 1997, a total of 122 governments signed the Mine Ban Treaty in Ottawa — the most comprehensive international instrument for ridding the world of anti-personnel mines.

Lloyd Axworthy, the foreign minister when Canada signed the Ottawa protocol, said he believes the sale contravenes the provisions of that treaty.

"It [ATK] is a major arms merchant that is creating some of the dirtiest weapons in the world," Axworthy said Wednesday.

"The transfer of public money into a company making landmines is clearly banned under the treaty so this would be a clear case of non-compliance," he said.

And the government's response is... about what you'd expect:

Federal Industry Minister Jim Prentice, who will have to review the sale, declined an interview with CBC News. His spokesperson said Prentice will review the sale based on whether it's good for Canada.

"Good for Canada" means "Good for Canadian shareholders and corporate profits", of course. Time to give Scott Brison a call.

(H/T to Blast Furnace Canada Blog)