Mr. Chair, I can speak to that.
The shortcomings in the Investment Canada Act identified by my colleagues, Ms. Nash and Mr. Côté, and myself included poor transparency, a lack of accountability and problems with the decision-making process. In fact, we don't really know what criteria the Minister of Industry uses. We have no idea what the justification would be for granting a request or denying one. And yet, a decision is made.
What's more, where we get into even more trouble with the Investment Canada Act is the fact that the federal government's decision has a direct impact on the community concerned. That decision is made, however, without any regard for what the community might think of the investment. The U.S. Steel case raises concerns that are specific to Hamilton, among others. We could also look to Sudbury and other places, as well as Quebec.
The new clause proposed in this amendment requires the minister to consider all requests and representations made by communities, trade unions, employees and anyone at the local level who would be affected by a potential takeover.
In short, what we're trying to do through this amendment is give a voice to those directly affected by the takeovers.