Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister for International Trade.
I wrote to the minister several weeks ago expressing objection to his announcement of a $60 million U.S. credit arrangement to finance a new South African aluminium smelter.
In his response the minister stated that several Canadian companies either received or retained business contracts as a direct result of this export credit.
Officials from the South African embassy informed my staff that only one Canadian company, SNC-Lavalin, is directly contracted on this project, that they secured their contract almost two years ago and were well under way prior to the federal government's credit deal.
Will the minister be forthright and tell the House precisely what motivated the government's decision to extend almost a $100 million Canadian credit for this South African smelter project?