Toronto, Aug 20 - The Canadian government, which is reviewing the sale of Nortel's wireless business to Swedish telecom major Ericsson after protests by opposition parties and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM), is almost set to give the go-ahead to the deal.

The 124-year-old Nortel, which has been operating under bankruptcy protection since January, is selling its business part by part to pay off its debtors.

The Toronto-based Canadian icon auctioned it wireless business - featuring the old CMDA and the latest LTE technology - last month to Ericsson for $1.13 billion.

But the BlackBerry maker and opposition leaders pressured the government to stop the deal in national interest as the sale will put sensitive Canadian technology in foreign hands.

Last week, a parliamentary committee sought views of all the players even as the current Conservative government has been reluctant to intervene. Under the Investment Canada Act, a full-scale review of any such deal can be undertaken if the value of the deal exceeded the threshold of $312 million.

But Nortel values the auctioned assets only at $149-million as against the $1.13 billion purchase price offered by Ericsson.