Stephen Harper travelled the world pitching Canada's "state-of-the-art" - and state-owned - nuclear reactor technology, but finding no takers at home or abroad and facing record budget deficits, the Prime Minister is selling off the Crown-owned Candus.

The Harper government confirmed yesterday it is calling for bids on the reactor wing of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.

With interest coming from a mix of foreign and domestic firms, opposition critics say they're concerned technology created at public expense is at risk of leaving the country.

"They're going to be selling Canadian know-how and intellectual property, probably to a foreign bidder, at bargain-basement prices," said Halifax Liberal MP Geoff Regan. He compared the sell-off to the mysterious cancellation of Canada's iconic fighter jet program in 1959.

"We're concerned that this is effectively Canada's new Avro Arrow," he said.

The sale won't include the research wing of the Crown corporation - namely the Chalk River nuclear facility, which produced most of the word's medical isotopes until it was shut down for repairs earlier this year. The government will also retain responsibility for storing nuclear waste.

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