SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 154

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 6, 2023 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 154 - Feb/6/23
Mr. Marty Morantz (Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, CPC)
  • Feb/6/23 1:17:52 p.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill C-34 
Madam Speaker, I noted that during his speech, the member talked about the security of our economy. Right now, under the legislation, foreign investment review is triggered only when the assets of a Canadian corporation are at least $454 million. I wonder if the member would agree that, given the nature of security threats and foreign acquisitions by hostile governments, it would be better to have that threshold at zero dollars.
71 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 154 - Feb/6/23
Mr. Xavier Barsalou-Duval (Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, BQ)
  • Feb/6/23 1:31:18 p.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill C-34 
Madam Speaker, I share the concerns of my Conservative colleague about Chinese investments, which are not always wise, and about the lax approach and lack of verification by this government. I want to take this opportunity to mention that a Chinese spy was recently arrested at Hydro‑Québec facilities. We often hear the Liberals brag about the fact that they are working hard for the electrification of transportation. We are not seeing many results, but they love to talk about it. In fact, this Chinese expert was in the offices of IREQ, Hydro-Québec’s research institute, which is in my riding. He took photos and gathered information on our research into the electrification of transportation to send to the Chinese government. It takes some nerve. All of that leads me to my question about Bill C‑34. At the time, in 2015, when I was elected for the first time, foreign investment notifications would have been sent to the government. According to government data, 10% of foreign investments were analyzed by the government in 2015. The most recent data indicates that only 1% of investments are being analyzed. What does my colleague think of that?
203 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 154 - Feb/6/23
Mr. Gérard Deltell
  • Feb/6/23 1:46:26 p.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill C-34 
Madam Speaker, yes, of course. The mere fact that legislation is being introduced to address this issue is a step forward. Increasing oversight of foreign investments with respect to national security, specifically those from communist China, is a good thing. However, this step forward does not go far enough. We need to make our experts even more effective. Cabinet and the minister responsible will indeed have a little more power. However, we have sadly been able to demonstrate, as have several colleagues, that over the past four or five years, there have been shortcomings in this regard. We must therefore better equip our intelligence services and our police services, those who ensure our security on a national and international level. In our view, this bill does not go far enough. Fortunately, we will be able to improve it when it is studied in parliamentary committee.
146 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border