Canada party seeks to scupper Alliant Tech deal

(Figures in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated)

OTTAWA, April 7 (Reuters) - Canada's left-leaning opposition New Democrats are seeking legal ways to block the sale of satellite technology to U.S. firm Alliant Techsystems Inc (ATK.N), the party's leader said on Monday.

The New Democrats say Canadian sovereignty will be imperiled if Ottawa allows MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd (MDA) (MDA.TO) to sell the technology as well as land-based data processing centers to Alliant Tech.

"We believe there may be legal actions that can be taken. We're very actively exploring those possibilities because it seems quite likely the government is not going to act," party leader Jack Layton told reporters.

The deal includes the high-tech Radarsat 2 satellite. Critics say once the firm is in U.S. hands, Washington could prevent Ottawa from seeing data from the satellite.

Industry Minister Jim Prentice has until April 21 to decide whether to block the $1.325 billion deal on national security grounds.

"Our fear is that this important technology could end up being used for purposes that Canadians would never support, that our sovereignty could be compromised ... we think it's very important to attempt to force the Minister to do the right thing," said Layton.

A spokeswoman for Prentice declined to comment.

MDA's chief executive said last week that the Canadian government would retain control over data from the satellite once the sale went through. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Renato Andrade)