moved that the fifth report of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, presented to the House on Friday, March 26, 2021, be concurred in.
Mr. Speaker, today I will be sharing my time with the member for Red Deer—Mountain View, or, as I like to call him, the “Earl of Red Deer”. He deserves all of the credit for his work on this particular bill. He is the longest-serving Conservative member on the industry committee. I would like to thank him for his incredible and tireless work at that committee and for his contributions to this important study and the report that we are debating on that study today.
Today we are addressing “The Investment Canada Act: Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and facilitating Canada's Recovery”. With the economic calamity brought on by the government's mismanagement of the COVID crisis and with its mismanagement of spending regulations and taxes, the Investment Canada Act came to the forefront of debate one year ago and still resonates, as this piece of legislation gives the federal government the power to review foreign investments in Canada under two broad criteria: national security and the net benefit review.
Foreign direct investment reviews are critical in areas that are sensitive to national security, but they can be absolutely necessary, as it is important to protect industries that are linked to the security of the nation. With the growing phenomenon of rare earth and other minerals and resources that not only furnish us with our quality of life, but protect our security and our sovereignty, it is important to ensure we do not surrender these resources to hostile foreign powers. They include “natural resources, food and medical supply lines, infrastructure (telecommunications and transportation), media and culture, the health sector, the hotel industry (given the need to protect personal information), as well as some emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum information processing, and semiconductors.”
It is clear these sectors should have the ability to operate in a way that allows for competition and customer choice, however it is equally important that they not become the successful target of hostile foreign powers that seek to acquire them not for any market-driven purpose, but rather to threaten the security and sovereignty of our nation. That is why this report is so important.
To that end, I will cede the rest of my time to the real expert on this subject, the member who has done more work than anyone on it, and that is the hon. member for Red Deer—Mountain View.