TORONTO - The sale of Canada's top satellite developer to an American company that makes land mines and other weapons is in contravention of the Mine Ban Treaty that Canada signed along with 121 other governments in 1997, CAW President Buzz Hargrove says.

The CAW is calling on the federal government to block the sale based on the Mine Ban Treaty which bans the transfer of public money into a company producing landmines. The treaty bans the export, production, stockpiling and use of landmines.

"It is unacceptable that the company that developed the Canadarm, with the support of Canadian tax payers, be sold to an American firm responsible for the production and proliferation of landmines," said Hargrove. "Canadian tax payers' dollars shouldn't be sent south to a company that has built its successes by producing arms used to maim and kill."

Former Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy also indicated today that he believes the sale contravenes provisions of the treaty, which was signed in Ottawa during his tenure. The CAW was the first NGO to support the treaty at that time and has donated several million dollars to landmine removal worldwide.

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) recently announced it was selling its satellite and space division to Alliant Techsystems (ATK) of the United States for $1.325 billion. MDA is the company that makes the Canadarm.

The CAW represents a small group of workers at CAW Locals 112 and 673 who make the robotic arms and other robotic manipulators, as well as providing manufacturing, design and administrative support for the space robotic division in Brampton, Ontario. CAW Local 188 in Montreal also represents approximately 80 members who work for MDA's Satellite division.