The break up of Canadian telco Nortel is a grave threat to the country's national interests. The 114 year old outfit was one of the most hated companies in Canada until it collapsed in an accounting scandal.

But there is a fear among politicians that after the company is broken up through bankruptcy proceedings, that the company is too valuable for Canada to let go. Blackberry's James Balsillie and Michael Lazaridis have been calling on the government to review the proposed $1.13 billion sale of Nortel's wireless infrastructure business to Ericsson, the Swedish company that dominates that business.

Balsillie and Lazaridis are a bit biased because Nortel reneged on a deal to sell the wireless assets to their company, Research in Motion. However their call is being heard. Canada has done badly out of flogging key assets to foreign companies. Recently United States Steel to drastically scale back the operations of Stelco, a Canadian steelmaker it acquired in 2007.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper told reporters that the sale would be reviewed under the act to see if it was "in Canada's national interest." So far the Canadian government has ruled out buying the company.

Perhaps he has sat on too many committees where Nortel's accounts and the fact it is based around aging technology have been discussed.