Does that work? All right.
I also want to note that when a Canadian mining company is sold to a foreign entity, it's not only its mining assets that are sold. It's also Canadian mining technology, Canadian intellectual property and Canadian mining expertise that we lose in those transactions. As former trade minister, I remember well that in 2011-12 or somewhere in that time span, China began hoarding rare earth and shook up significant elements of the global economy in the process. The global community finally had to take China to the World Trade Organization to enforce China's obligation to follow the rules of free trade and allow these vital assets to be released to the rest of the world.
What has changed today is that in recent years, the World Trade Organization's ability to enforce its rules has diminished significantly. It is questionable whether the organization is even capable of preventing the hoarding and manipulation of critical minerals and rare earths anymore. That's why it's critical that like-minded nations—like Canada, like the U.S., like Australia—pay careful attention to who is positioning themselves to monopolize these assets to the detriment of the larger global economy.
A national security review should be standard practice whenever a Canadian miner like Neo Lithium is sold to a foreign entity. Our credibility with our most trusted allies is at stake. Our reputation as the world's leading mining nation is at stake. Our future prosperity is at stake.
What happened, Mr. Chair? What happened here? Why wasn't a national security review undertaken by our Liberal government? I want to know. We Conservatives want to know. Canadians want to know. Let's get to the bottom of this. In the process, I expect that we'll discover existing weaknesses in Canada's foreign investment review process that should be addressed by the government.
Colleagues, I urge all of you to support this motion and to direct our committee clerk to schedule meetings and begin to reach out to potential witnesses.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the opportunity to speak to this motion.