I will be finished in less than a minute.
Suppose that the United States sends a ship into the Northwest Passage without Canada's consent.
The Canadian government recently announced that it would introduce legislation enabling foreign investments to be blocked if they are contrary to Canada's national security interests, and as I understand it, this move is directed primarily at state-owned companies investing in the Alberta tar sands. But a similar concern should prompt the government to block the RADARSAT-2 sale. Indeed, in light of my sovereignty concerns, I find it hard to believe that this sale offers a net benefit to Canada.
Finally, I wish to remind the committee that there are also powers and a somewhat different test provided under the 2005 Remote Sensing Space Systems Act, which was enacted especially for RADARSAT-2. The test that the foreign minister must follow is to determine whether this will have a negative impact on the national security and the defence of Canada. I think this satellite is just as essential to our national security as the $750 million that the government has recently committed to a new polar icebreaker, and for that reason, I believe this satellite should stay in Canadian hands.
Thank you.