Geoff Regan

[Foreign Investment, October 3rd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the government has put thousands of jobs and critical foreign investment at risk by failing to strengthen our net benefit rules. It promised two years ago to make the process more open and transparent, but decisions are still being made on the Prime Minister's whim.

Instead of shrouding the CNOOC-Nexen decision in secrecy, why does the government not listen to Canadians, lay the details on the table and let everyone judge whether it is a good deal for Canada?

[Business of Supply, October 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, this is a real concern. We ought to be concerned, but we also ought to examine it. We should try to understand and maybe have people from CSIS come before the industry committee to talk about this and examine in which cases they feel there are threats, in which cases they do not and what is the nature of the threats. Some of them are obvious, if we are talking about a nuclear or electrical plant. As far as the development of an oil sands project, it is a little less clear what the security risk is, but let us discuss and examine those issues.

[Business of Supply, October 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, on this point I am going to surprise my NDP colleagues by agreeing with them and the motion they have brought forward today.

I think it is important that we hold public hearings on this topic. It is important that we hear from expert witnesses who have considered these kinds of questions and can give us their thoughts on the best practices around the world. Let us look at those. Let us look at possible ways to strengthen the act and make foreign investment work for Canadians. That is the key here.

We ought to make sure that there is a process in place, that conditions can be put and enforced against these companies, that there are the proper enforcement mechanisms to ensure those conditions are enforced, so that this kind of investment gives Canada the kind of benefit we want to see in terms of job creation, development of our economy, and innovation. We have seen that there is a lot of past history showing there are benefits from foreign direct investment in this country.

Another topic for perhaps another time is the kind of investment we have elsewhere. How do we encourage that? To what degree do we want to encourage national champions that are not just targets for takeover but are in fact doing the kind of investment elsewhere that helps to create those head offices and jobs in our country?

[Business of Supply, October 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question, and I have to admit that we did have a laugh at his joke. It was clever wording, and taking shots at the member for Calgary West is fairly easy these days, although I think there is some basis for doing that. However, the NDP is not averse to taking gratuitous shots at our party or any party. We have seen that many times in the past.

What we have not seen the NDP members do a whole lot is stand up for real job creation in Canada or for investment in Canada, which is the kind of activity that creates jobs. They make a lot of noise about being for small business and job creation, but we do not see them actually support measures that make those things happen.

Maybe the NDP does not understand or recognize that investment is important or that it is primarily the private sector that creates the jobs and wealth in our economy, which allows our government to provide the services that are so important for this country.

[Business of Supply, October 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise here in the House to take part in today's debate on foreign investment, specifically, the proposed transaction between CNOOC and Nexen.

The Liberal Party understands the need for foreign investment. It is important for the creation of economic growth and for the creation of jobs.

We also note that studies have shown that foreign investment tends to increase innovation in a country. It is valuable and important for Canada. If there is a lot of foreign direct investment out of Canada, that is important to our economy. It creates wealth and jobs at home because there are returns from that. Head offices are based here that are important employers and they create good jobs in Canada.

Our position is not like the position of the NDP over the years. That party has long been opposed to free trade and foreign investment. It has opposed foreign investments over and over again. These days all of a sudden those members are trying to present some sort of a new face, a different picture, that they are not going to look quite so economically irresponsible, but rather make it look as though they are being a little more open to these things. Although they are trying to bury the past, Canadians are not buying it so far, but we will have to wait and see.

The Liberal Party has been asking for weeks for answers from the government about this deal. It is clear the government does not know what it is doing in this case, or else maybe it is afraid to tell Canadians what it is doing, what its plans are, how it is going to manage this, or perhaps both.

As a result of the government's economic incompetence, Canadians really are not confident that they can be assured of being protected by the Conservative government.

Let us remember that the Conservatives inherited the best fiscal situation of any new government coming into office, with a $13 billion surplus in 2006 and they turned that into a deficit before the recession began in 2008. By April and May 2008, the country was already in deficit again. The government entered that year with a deficit of over $5 billion and it had not even begun spending on stimulus at that point.

The Conservatives claim they have had a good record economically. I think most Canadians recognize that is not the case. Therefore, it is hard for them to have the kind of confidence they are looking for that the government will deal with a matter like this properly. For this and other reasons, as well as their failure to be open about this, there is a growing level of cynicism over this deal. The actions of the Conservatives are a major contributing factor to that cynicism and to the concerns Canadians have about this.

The report from CSIS talks about foreign companies, state-owned companies. It does not specify this instance, but it talks about how these kind of deals could create security concerns. That has obviously created a lot of concern for Canadians as well.

The public has expressed reservations about this deal because the government has failed to be open, despite repeated promises. A moment ago my hon. colleague talked about some changes the Conservatives made in 2009 in relation to a bit of tinkering around security questions. In 2010, a year after that, the Prime Minister said that we needed a clearer, more transparent process, yet we have seen nothing since then.

The government sat on this question knowing full well that proposals like this would come forward. We have been hearing lots of talk in the oil sands, in the west and elsewhere, of foreign interests and takeovers. For the government to say that it was not ready, that it did not know it was coming and that it did not even prepare for this, makes no sense.

I am delighted to be splitting my time with my hon. colleague from Malpeque. I look forward to hearing him on this topic in a few minutes.

We even see growing dissent on the government backbenches. There is clear division on that side. Even the backbench members are concerned about where the government is headed. Maybe they too find it awfully difficult to see where the government is headed on this because it has not been transparent. Apparently there is a dispute about this even in cabinet. The member for Calgary West seems to be the poster boy for opponents to the deal, but he certainly is not the only one to question what the government is doing on foreign investment.

It is something Canadians have been wondering about for years, ever since the fiscally incompetent crowd over there took power in 2006, because during that period we witnessed a hollowing out of the natural resources sector in this country. Lots of former leaders in that sector are now gone and owned elsewhere. Think about aluminum; think about steel; think about metal. Big companies in these sectors, important Canadian companies, have all been gobbled up by foreign owners. The companies, since then, have failed to live up to their commitments, and the government has not held them to those commitments. The government lacked the fortitude to enforce the commitments that were in those deals.

How can Canadians have any confidence in what the government will do with the next deal, that it will enforce any conditions that may apply to the CNOOC Nexen deal? Of course it probably should not surprise us that the government lacked the fortitude to enforce even the basic promises made in some of those deals when we know about the government's own record for keeping promises. Seniors remember the broken promise from the government and the Prime Minister on income trusts. Voters remember the fixed date election law, and that promise was broken. All Canadians these days are paying more and more because of the broken gas tax promise. The Prime Minister said whenever gas prices rise above 85¢ we will get rid of the tax, which would alleviate the challenge for Canadians paying for that. That is another broken promise.

We have a Prime Minister who has made a habit of failing to live up to his promises or to keep a promise, so how is he likely to ask others to do so? It does not seem very likely. In fact, part of the problem we are dealing with today is a direct result of the Prime Minister failing to keep his promise to review and update the Investment Canada Act and to provide a clearer process. There are a number of ways of doing it. One option is by making amendments to the net benefit test. Another is to ask if there is some other process we should use entirely. Do we use one that still leaves it to the discretion of the government in the end, or do we find something else that removes that discretion? That is what we ought to be discussing.

One of the reasons we are supporting the motion today is that we believe it is important to have a public discussion about this. It is important to have members of Parliament at committee discussing these issues. As my good friend from Wascana recently pointed out, the six-step test for net benefit in section 20 of the Investment Canada Act remains a very foggy test. It is not all that clear. In any given case, net benefit is what the Prime Minister decides, despite all the things listed in section 20. It changes from deal to deal. As we saw with the potash deal a couple of years ago, we know decisions are based on political expediency. It was clear the government wanted to go ahead with that deal, but it finally backed down.

We do not have a clearly defined set of regulations. Is that the way to go? Do we need a different process that takes it out of the hands of the cabinet? Or do we want to leave some flexibility in government on these decisions? That is the kind of thing that a committee of Parliament ought to be studying. I had a motion passed last spring after waiting quite a while, adopted by the industry committee to look at this, but we are still not at it and we have a situation in this Parliament where committees go in camera so the government can avoid dealing with things it does not want to deal with.

This is a case where the Prime Minister said in 2010 he wanted to deal with this, he wanted this study. The Minister of Industry said a year and a half ago that the committee ought to be looking at this. Well, who has a majority on the committee? Has the government really allowed the industry committee to study this question, if it has not happened? It has the majority. It controls the agenda and yet the committee has not studied this issue. We know who is in control of that.

The unfortunate truth is that, because of the Prime Minister's failure to keep a promise again, there will be a lot more potential takeovers that will be decided on this very sketchy basis, and that is economic mismanagement to add to the Conservatives' fiscal mismanagement. The sad truth is that the government has not done its homework on this deal even though it had plenty of time to prepare for this kind of situation, the same way it failed to do its homework on the northern gateway pipeline proposal as we heard from former Conservative minister Jim Prentice this very week. He talked about how they totally failed to consult aboriginal communities, how they have not lived up to their responsibilities.

[Business of Supply, October 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP is trying to change its tune on investment and trade.

In the past, the New Democratic Party has always opposed free trade agreements, except last spring when we were discussing the agreement with Jordan. It has always been against any foreign investment.

Many of Canada's investments are obviously made outside the country. These investments are important and create jobs here. Furthermore, foreign investment creates jobs in Canada.

What is the NDP's current position? And what is the NDP's position on the agreement between CNOOC and Nexen?

[Asbestos, September 27th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to participate in this debate on the motion moved by my hon. colleague from Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup.

Motion No. 381 outlines a plan of action for dealing with asbestos, including economic diversification, including having this dangerous substance listed on the Rotterdam Convention and public hearings.

Today is not a day to celebrate. Yes, it is good to have the substance on the list, but the people in the affected regions will have a hard time once the industry ceases to exist. The government must implement measures to help these people and the regions. People will have to find new jobs, another source of income.

Everyone is familiar with the dangers of asbestos, so I will not retill that particular soil. While this motion is non-binding, it is certainly welcome, given the events of the past few weeks. The Liberal Party has for a number of years been pushing to have asbestos listed on the Rotterdam Convention's list of dangerous substances. It has become more clear in the last few years that this is necessary. We have been urging the Conservative government to ensure that workers in this industry have the assistance they need to transition to other forms of employment.

That is why we intend to support this motion.

Last October, during the opposition day on asbestos, the NDP moved a similar motion. The main difference is that the motion moved last year would have prohibited the use and exportation of all forms of asbestos, which today's motion does not do.

During the debate last year, the Conservatives were incapable of thoroughly analyzing problems related to asbestos and the harm that exporting this dangerous substance was causing to Canada's international reputation.

However, the minister defied all logic and defended the government's position even in light of the incontrovertible facts.

Then earlier this month something happened. As we all know, a minority PQ government was elected in Quebec. I am not celebrating that either, but as a result the minister has apparently had a change of heart, although one has to question his motives; if he had listened a year ago, we could be much further along now in the process of providing assistance to communities like Asbestos, where the Jeffrey mine is located.

This month, the government announced that it will no longer oppose adding chrysotile asbestos to the Rotterdam Convention's prior informed consent procedure list. I should point out that in July 2011, Canada was the only country in the world to object to adding chrysotile asbestos to the Rotterdam Convention's list of hazardous chemicals. Adding asbestos to the list will force exporters to warn recipient countries of any health hazards.

That is very important because we know it has been going around the world and it has been going to countries where it has not been handled properly, especially when people are taking buildings down. All we have to do is go outside this building, the Centre Block, and look over to the West Block, which is surrounded by a fence and has been enshrouded for the past year or so, as work is being done to remove asbestos from it. It is pretty obvious to us, just looking at how carefully the public is excluded from that area, that this is considered a real problem. When people are working with any kind of asbestos, to try to remove it from a building, they have to take very careful precautions, so we all know it is a serious matter.

The federal government also promised to provide up to $50 million to help the region diversify its economy, but it has not provided much so far in the way of any detailed plan.

The Conservatives also tried to blame the new PQ government for the demise of asbestos mining in Quebec, because that government said it would cancel the $58 million loan the Charest government had announced earlier this year, and the intent of that loan was to revive the country's only asbestos operation in the town of Asbestos.

If the government actually based its decisions on science and facts instead of political gamesmanship, it would have followed the scientific evidence far sooner, and that has clearly established the health dangers of chrysotile asbestos.

Let me conclude by noting that despite the recent announcements by the federal and provincial governments, opponents of asbestos continue to argue that the problem is far from over.

For example, recent media reports say that $2.6 million worth of asbestos-containing brake pads were imported into Ontario last year. There are concerns about exactly what the government's new position will mean. We will have to wait and see. But the fact that asbestos is still moving around this country, is still being used, is a concern. That makes me concerned about mechanics in auto shops who have to work on these brakes. They may have no idea that they contain asbestos and may not be taking the measures necessary to protect themselves from inhaling asbestos. I hope they are taking the necessary measures. I would be very concerned about that. It is time steps were taken to end this activity.

[Employment Insurance, September 21st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is bending over backwards to help his friends in the oil patch by scrapping environmental laws but abandoning moms on maternity leave. I heard from several moms this week who are the victims of the government's new EI clawback rules. They are wondering how they are going to afford Pablum and diapers. These moms are wondering why they are being squeezed while free-spending ministerial staffers can rack up thousands on government credit cards.

[Foreign Investment, September 21st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, it is easy to hide behind the Prime Minister's talking points, but the fact is that since 2010, this government has avoided clarifying the rules surrounding foreign acquisitions, and this is causing uncertainty.

The government gave itself the possibility to publicly disclose the reasons behind a refusal. Can it commit to disclosing the reasons if it determines that this transaction would represent a net benefit to Canada?

[Foreign Investment, September 21st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, foreign suitors are lining up at the oil patch like it is the iPhone store. Two years ago the Prime Minister promised greater transparency in foreign investment reviews. Now the government will not even disclose the details of the CNOOC-Nexen deal. When will the government set out a clear process like the Prime Minister promised?