Motion No. 5
That Bill C-89 be amended by adding after line 13, on page 7, the following:
"11.1 (1) On continuation day and during the initial period following continuation day, neither the Minister nor CN shall sell or otherwise dispose of shares to persons who are not Canadian persons.
(2) In subsection (1)
"initial period" means ninety days or such longer period as is set by order of the Governor in Council;
"Canadian person" means a ) an individual who is a Canadian citizen or who has the right of permanent residence in Canada, or b ) a corporation registered in Canada the majority of the voting shares of which are held by
(i) individuals mentioned in paragraph ( a ), or
(ii) corporations, the majority of the voting shares of which are held by individuals mentioned in paragraph ( a ).''
Mr. Speaker, I would like to explain why I have put forward this motion. It addresses the very point that the parliamentary secretary addressed when giving his explanation of the 15 per cent under the former grouping.
This will protect and give an opportunity to Canadians to buy shares and address the concerns that could only be dealt with by putting in another restriction. I would defer to my hon. colleague from Lethbridge for debate on this motion.