I was reading a Globe and Mail article by Niall McGee on August 13, 2022, called “China has encroached on Canada's critical minerals industry, with almost no obstruction from Ottawa”.
The article states:
While Canadian politicians claim to want to scrutinize foreign takeovers, over the past five years fewer than 1 per cent have been subject to in-depth security reviews under section 25.3 of the National Security Act, and almost none were blocked. Last year, out of 826 foreign investment filings, Canada conducted only 11 section 25.3 reviews. The government blocked only one of those transactions: Chinese state-owned Shandong Gold Mining Co. Ltd.'s attempted takeover of Canadian gold mining company TMAC Resources Inc.
There was another example that was listed. I believe it was Norsat technologies, where I believe Mr. Masse's amendment comes from. He's nodding in agreement with me. Intellectual property was indeed lost.
The general mood of the Canadian public is that they want this bill strengthened. I'm glad the government brought this forward, but I don't know whether the regulatory approach has done its due diligence. Now, under Australian law, they have the ability to go back.
My question for the official is this: Have any analysts in your department examined Bill C-34 in the context of...? Say Bill C-34 had been in place five years ago. How many more transactions would have been covered under section 25.3 of the National Security Act, in the context of critical takeovers by foreign state-owned enterprises?