Mr. Speaker, I believe that we would react very negatively to any intrusion of that nature. The possibility of losing our economic sovereignty is only one step away from losing our sovereignty, period. I know the people of Manitoba and Canadians generally do not want to see the takeover of their institutions by foreign enterprise and foreign agencies. The 10% rule was put there specifically to stop the Chase Manhattan Bank from taking over the Toronto Dominion Bank in the 1960s. It was put there for the very specific reason of trying to shield one of our Canadian institutions from an unfriendly corporate raid by American interests.
I can honestly say to the member for Trois-Rivières that we would react very negatively if we were faced with similar circumstances as he outlined in the province of Quebec and the Banque Nationale.