House of Commons photoLost her last election, in 2015, with 30% of the vote.
Science and Technology February 1st, 2013
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives say one thing and do another. They say that they want research and development to flourish, yet they refuse to come clean about their plans for the National Research Council. They are hiding behind closed doors and planning to dismantle one of the country's premier research organizations.
What are they trying to hide? How many scientists are in danger of losing their job?
PETITIONS December 12th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition this afternoon from Canadians who are calling on the Government of Canada to adopt a national public transit strategy.
Business of Supply December 10th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, my colleague raises a very good point. The Conservatives keep repeating that the NDP is opposed to all foreign investments, but that is simply not true.
We are in favour of investments that create jobs here in Canada and make it possible to develop new technology. We are opposed to foreign investments that simply allow foreign governments to control more Canadian resources.
That is the difference between the NDP and the Conservatives. Most Canadians agree with the NDP.
Business of Supply December 10th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, that is a good question, but we are not getting many answers from the government, which is not acting very transparently.
The government likes to brag about job creation figures. However, there are two that it will not mention in this afternoon's debate: the 1,500 jobs lost when two U.S. Steel plants closed when it acquired Stelco, and the 686 jobs eliminated by Xstra when it took over Falconbridge.
The Conservative government has to act much more transparently. Canadians are siding with the NDP.
Business of Supply December 10th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her question, and for highlighting an important ideological difference between the Conservatives and the NDP.
The NDP believes that Canada has to keep value-added jobs within its borders rather than exporting them to the United States or China. We believe that these value-added jobs have to stay in the country. We are firmly opposed to our raw resources being shipped elsewhere and then bought back by Canada, since that does not create stable jobs and it impoverishes Canadians.
Business of Supply December 10th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak on the bill denouncing the irresponsible decision by the Conservative government with regard to Nexen.
As my colleagues mentioned earlier today, we are extremely shocked and disappointed by the government's decision to approve the takeover of Nexen by CNOOC without any consultation and without releasing the criteria on which it based its decision. The worst thing is that the announcement was made on Friday evening, almost on the sly, as if the government were ashamed of its decision.
In this regard, my colleague from Burnaby—New Westminster said:
“This is a farce. While Conservatives admit that under the new rules this transaction is not a net benefit to Canadians, they have approved it anyway.”
It is totally illogical. Even though this is happening in Alberta, this issue concerns all of Canada, including Quebec. This is the biggest takeover in Canada by a foreign state-owned corporation in Canada's history and the first in a probable series of similar major acquisitions. Allowing CNOOC to buy Nexen paves the way for all the foreign corporations that are eyeing our most valuable companies.
University of Toronto economist Wendy Dobson mentioned in an article in The Globe and Mail that she thought a tidal wave would be heading out of China in the next decade and she did not think we were ready for it.
In her article, she noted that Chinese firms would be looking to invest more than $1 billion in the coming decade to acquire access to resources and related technology.
In July 2012, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, CNOOC, put in an offer to purchase Nexen, an oil company based in Calgary, for $15 billion.
Before continuing, I would like to mention that I am going to share my time with the member for Terrebonne—Blainville.
It is important to know that CNOOC is 64% owned by the Chinese government and that a number of the company's key executives, including the president and vice-president, are appointed by the Chinese government. By giving the green light to CNOOC, the Conservative government is making an historic move by allowing the biggest takeover in Canada by a foreign state-owned corporation.
By getting its hands on Nexen, the Chinese government will control the twelfth-largest oil company in Canada, a huge company that has interests in 300,000 acres of oil sands and another 300,000 acres of land that is suitable for shale gas development. Selling Nexen to the Chinese government, as the Conservative government is allowing, means relinquishing the development of 600,000 acres of Canadian land to China. That is twice the size of Hong Kong. In both form and substance, this transaction is appalling.
We lament the fact that the government has approved this gigantic foreign takeover behind closed doors, without consulting or telling us what criteria it has used.
On Sunday morning, the Minister of Industry was still unable to give us any details about the CNOOC-Nexen agreement. He even said he was not allowed to talk publicly about the details of the agreement. Now that is transparency. The person who is in charge of protecting the interests of Canadians cannot even be accountable for his decisions. The purchasers' promises might never be made public or enforced.
Canadians do not understand why the government approved the purchase of Nexen by the Chinese state-owned corporation CNOOC just before admitting that this kind of foreign takeover was bad for Canada.
Making up rules as you go along is no way to manage the economy of a G8 country. We can see very clearly that the government has improvised in this matter. We need clear rules. Both private sector businesses and Canadian companies and workers need certainty regarding foreign acquisitions.
The Conservatives are responsible for this fiasco. Let me point out that, in 2010, they voted in favour of the NDP's motion to amend the Investment Canada Act. If they had kept their promise, we would not be here today.
On Friday, the government also announced so-called new rules to govern this kind of takeover. Once again, those new guidelines appear to have been drafted in secret. In our view, those changes are not enough to guarantee a net benefit in future takeovers. For example, nothing in the new rules clarifies the net benefit test. There are no assurances that public consultations will be held with Canadians, who will have to live with the consequences of those takeovers. There are no assurances of mandatory disclosure of the performance guarantees made by investors or that there will be any transparent and accountable enforcement of the act. There is no improved reciprocity for Canadian investors outside Canada. And there are no assurances that foreign governments' records of interference in the activities of state-owned corporations will be reviewed.
In recent weeks, more than 80,000 Canadians have sent letters and emails to Parliament criticizing the CNOOC proposal. Unlike the government, the NDP has done its homework and consulted people across the country, including in Calgary. We have concluded that this takeover is not in Canada's interests. The sale of Nexen to the state-owned corporation CNOOC raises a lot of concerns. Most Canadians have said they are opposed to it, particularly because of the risk to Canadian jobs and CNOOC's poor human rights and environmental record.
CNOOC and the Chinese government also have a poor human rights record. A project in Burma, for example, sparked controversy when 3,000 hand-dug oil wells and more than 300 acres of agricultural land were unceremoniously confiscated.
As I mentioned earlier, many observers are concerned about CNOOC's environmental practices. Let us not forget that, in June 2011, two spills at CNOOC sites polluted over 6,200 square kilometres of China’s Bohai Bay. CNOOC did not report the incident until 30 days after the fact. In addition, according to the site operator, CNOOC insisted on using an affiliate rather than a clean-up firm that would have responded more quickly. As far as CNOOC is concerned, corporate interests trump environmental ones. By giving CNOOC the green light, the Conservative government is more or less sanctioning CNOOC's poor record on the environmental front.
Last week, when interviewed on Question Period, the Minister of Industry declined to say whether the Canadian government had demanded new environmental guarantees from CNOOC.
Canadians also have good reason to be concerned about the long-term economic ramifications of this deal. In the past, foreign takeovers of Canadian companies have often resulted in massive layoffs. The layoffs at Vale Inco, U. S. Steel/Stelco and Xstrata/Falconbridge are just a few examples that come to mind.
China has tremendous refining capacity, as we know. How many good jobs would be lost if CNOOC-Nexen decided to ship raw bitumen to China for upgrading and refining?
Moreover, the Conservatives have brushed aside the Alberta government's request that 50% of management positions in the company be held by Canadians, that current workforce levels be maintained for at least five years, that plans for a research and development fund be clarified and that priority be given to strengthening commitments to planned capital spending.
Despite the Conservative government's announcement on Friday that it was approving the sale of a sensitive sector of our economy to a foreign government, the NDP's demands have not changed. We want the government to publicly disclose the details of the CNOOC-Nexen deal. Contrary to what the Industry Minister stated last weekend, it is not up to the Chinese government to explain to Canadians whether or not the deal provides any benefit to Canadians.
The NDP also wants Parliament to conduct a full public review of the Investment Canada Act to protect Canadian citizens and investors. For all of these reasons, I wholeheartedly support the NDP's motion and look forward to taking questions from my honourable colleagues.
Business of Supply December 10th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I am particularly disappointed to see the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment support the CNOOC-Nexen agreement, knowing that CNOOC has a pathetic environmental record. I remind members that in June 2011, two leaks at CNOOC sites polluted over 6,200 square kilometres in Bohai Bay, China. We also know that CNOOC did not disclose the leak until 30 days after it occurred.
I think that these agreements open the door to some rather serious environmental risks. Can the parliamentary secretary respond to that concern?
Business of Supply December 10th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to denounce the Conservatives' irresponsible decisions regarding Nexen.
We are extremely disappointed and shocked by the Conservative government's decision to approve CNOOC's takeover of Nexen—
Robert Grégoire December 10th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House to mark the upcoming retirement of Robert Grégoire, who has been managing the Centre d'entraide Racine-Lavoie since 1989.
He is responsible, in particular, for expanding Maison Richelieu, which houses the Centre d'entraide Racine-Lavoie, and for starting a number of organizations that help people in need. I am thinking, for example, of the Fondation Émile-Z.-Laviolette, the Grenier populaire des Basses-Laurentides, the Comité d'aide alimentaire des patriotes and Droits et obligations des sans emploi.
Mr. Grégoire has been an important leader in our community. He has led his staff and the volunteers at the support centre in helping people in need to develop their potential, become more autonomous and have a greater sense of dignity.
We know that we owe him a great deal, and we thank him for all the years he has spent helping others.
Foreign Investment December 7th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, they are the ones making it up as they go along.
Approving the Nexen purchase would have major consequences for this country, particularly after the signing of the trade agreement with China. That agreement will give a foreign government corporation ownership of part of Canada’s natural resources. The consequences are too important not to be honest with Canadians.
Can the Conservatives promise they will make their announcement about Nexen on Monday, in the daytime, as it should be done? Or are they again going to wait until the stroke of midnight?