Madam Speaker, I come from a riding that knows this Investment Canada Act all too well, unfortunately.
Xstrata, which was Falconbridge, and Inco, which is now Vale, have both seen the net benefit. The net benefit has been 686 job losses in February 2009, 400 job losses at Vale in May and a year-long strike. I can continue to talk about job losses, and I can continue to talk about layoffs, but the thing that has been very clear is that my city and my community has been ravaged.
There has been no net benefit to families who have to find a way to keep their homes and no net benefit to families who are not able to send their children, their teenagers, to college or university because they have lost their job.
This net benefit needs to be clear. I got elected two years ago, and when the first layoffs came around, it was six months in. I said we would look at the Investment Canada Act and the agreement and find out what we could do to protect the jobs.
What I was told by the government was that it was a confidential agreement and I could not see it. However, it was allowing a corporation to lay off 686 people, with 686 families affected.
I would like to ask the hon. member this. How does he think it is fair to keep these agreements hidden from the Canadian public, who we represent?