CAW Pleased with Decision to Delay Sale of MDA
Tuesday, Apr 22 2008, 03:00
The federal government decision to delay the sale of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates' space and robotics division to U.S. arms manufacturer Alliant Techsystems is being lauded the by the CAW. The union is pressing the government to stop the sale and begin properly funding Canadian space programs.
Included in the sale would be the Canadarm2, Dextre and RADARSAT-2, for which MDA received hundreds of millions of dollars of public funding for their creation. According to study released by the Rideau Institute and the CAW, the sale of the MDA's space and robotics division would be entirely against Canadian interests. The sale also cannot be approved by under the Investment Canada Act or the Remote Sensing Space Systems Act.
"It's the role of the government to support leading edge technology development and ensure that it is protected for the public good," said Carol Phillips, assistant to CAW president Buzz Hargrove.
"This sale would be wholly detrimental to the future development of Canadian technology and technologically advanced jobs at a time we're being told that the knowledge-based economy is the way of the future," said Dawn Cartwright, CAW aerospace director.
The CAW represents MDA workers in Brampton, Ontario and St. Anne de
Bellevue, Quebec.
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