Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in my place to respond to the question asked in the House by the hon. member. My hon. colleague was concerned, among other things, by recent decisions by foreign-based multinationals to close production in Canada and the loss of jobs that resulted.
The Government of Canada shares the hon. member's disappointment in the decisions made by U.S. Steel and Xstrata Nickel. These are challenging economic times and these decisions hit hard the communities and the families that have relied upon these companies for their livelihood.
All around the world companies are making tough decisions in order to secure their future. We want to work with these companies to help them weather the economic storms and ensure that they regard Canada as the best place to do business once the economy begins to improve again. We are also taking steps to ensure that these companies abide by their responsibilities and commitments.
For example, when it acquired Stelco, U.S. Steel agreed to legally binding undertakings. The government is concerned by the actions of U.S. Steel in cutting operations in Canada and by the impact this will have on its workers. While we recognize that these are challenging economic times, we expect the company to live up to its commitments.
The Minister of Industry has sent U.S. Steel a demand letter under section 39 of the Investment Canada Act asking the company to comply with its undertakings. A demand letter is the first step in the enforcement process under the Investment Canada Act.
As for Xstrata, I would like to remind the House that the company has invested over $1.5 billion in Canada over the last two and a half years and it is clear that Canada is still a key part of its future growth strategy.
It is important to keep in mind that although foreign investors have announced reductions in their activities in Canada, they continue to invest billions of dollars in the Canadian economy and they create jobs for Canadians.