A big up for The Honourable Jack Layton, who has overtaken the Conservative government on the Canada First lane. With this, the Conservatives undoubtedly deserve some heartfelt sarcasm for all their rhetoric and pizzazzy about reclaiming national sovereignty.
The problem is that after all said and done, the waiting game played by the Harper government by lowering a delay on any decision on the prospected sale of the satellite-producing division of MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd., the maker of RadarSat I and II, as well as the Canadarm, to Alliant Techsystems of the US, looks ironic, not to say contradictory.
This stems from two main considerations:
I- Radarsat2 is essential to the ensure surveillance of the many remote areas Canada's territory is made of, including the Government's new crusade: the Arctic region. Besides considerations of accountability given that MDA has received CND$ 400 million in taxpayers' contributions for the development of sensing technology, for the government to allow the alienation of such a strategic industry would mean jeopardizing Canada's national security as well as any future capabilities.
II- Allowing the sell-out of such a strategic industry "to the almighty dollar" would cast a very negative shadow on the Conservative government. To the extent that the main threat to Canada's sovereignty comes and has always come from the stronghold of the Canada-US defence relationship, permitting the prospected transaction would witness of a serious miscalculation of the nature of that bilateral relationship. The point being that having a technological edge as afforded by devices like Radarsat2 (which at present the US can only dream of) is key to bring some degree of balancing into an otherwise heavily asymmetrical relationship.
While it is true that Cabinet Minister Jim Prentice has until April 21 following his potponement of any decision, and a second level of clearance needs to be granted by Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier, in compliance with the 2005 Remote Sensing Space Systems Act; Jack Layton's promise to take a potential sale of MDA's satellite division ot the court is welcome (Globe & Mail, 06:04: 2008).
Together with the Rideau Institute's important advocacy and awareness activism it is helping to make the Canadian public aware of the issue and putting necessary pressure on the goverment in office.
Will the Harper Government show the maturity to say no to our powerful neighbour thereby
living up to its rhetoric, or will it give in to the pressures that are surely being exercised from Washington.
What is right for Canada is easy to tell, but what will the legendarily secretive Harper government do is far from clear. So go on Stephen, make your choice.
The Honourable Jim Prentice in the end rejected the takeover of MDA by Alliant technologies, on grounds that "under the Investment Canada regime (...) we don't see net benefits to Canada in this transaction." (CBC, 10.04.2008). This decision was wlcomed by choral paeans across the board (The Star, 11.04. 2008; Rideau Institute, 11.04.2008), with the exception of commentator (Macleans, ). 
