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."

He added: "Why do we so rarely stand firm and fight for what's Canadian? Isn't it time we started protecting our own interests in this country?"

In an interview, Mr. Hanger said he is so concerned about the ramifications of the sale that he has written to his fellow MPs. He said countries such as the United States would never allow the sale of sophisticated technology funded by tax dollars to a foreign company.

"This is space-age technology we're talking about here," Mr. Hanger said. "I don't know how you can give that away. It doesn't make any sense."

Alliant Techsystems is waiting to hear from Industry Minister Jim Prentice on whether its proposed $1.325-billion purchase of MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates can proceed.

MDA as it is also known, is considered the backbone of Canada's space industry and over the years the federal government has pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into the company to build it up as Canada's premier space technology firm.

Under the deal, Alliant would also become owner of the recently launched Radarsat-2 satellite, the world's most advanced radar imaging spacecraft. Canadian taxpayers spent more than $420-million on the spacecraft. Radarsat-2 is also considered Canada's most advanced system to keep watch over the country's Arctic territories, including those areas contested by the United States.

Mr. Hanger questioned how Canada will protect its sovereignty in the Arctic if it turns over ownership of Radarsat-2 to a U.S. firm. He pointed out there is no way the United States would allow the system to be used by Canada to conduct surveillance on American activities in the north.

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