Mr. Speaker, we note that Bill C-3, the amendments to the Canada pension plan and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, contemplate changing the rules regarding foreign investment, so that now under Bill C-3 the board would be allowed to invest offshore in foreign investments up to 30% of the amount that it is investing. It is certainly our view that if we are to invest taxpayer money on the private market it should be invested locally to get the maximum return for local businesses, for Canadian enterprises, and that any benefit from this investment, whether it is venture capital or an equity investment in a company, should be geared to yield the maximum returns. I would ask the hon. member to comment on why the bill contemplates foreign investment of up to 30%.
I will add one more detail to that. The experience to date has been that the board's Canadian investments have yielded a 13% return and all its offshore investments combined have yielded a negative, a minus 3% loss. For all the reasons I have stated and the obvious reason that these foreign investments are not yielding a higher rate of return than local investments, would he not agree that we should not have this 30% ceiling for foreign investment?