Food Safety  There was no increase in the number of positions. There has been what I think is a lot of misinformation coming from the government side. There were 46 positions before. There are 46 positions now. That did not change. When we hear government saying things that are inaccurate, the Canadian public is very intelligent and they can connect the dots.

Food Safety  You are responsible.

Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act  Mr. Speaker, please allow me to wish the hon. member for Hochelaga a happy birthday; today is her birthday. As usual, she is spending the day working for her constituents in Hochelaga. The hon. member just raised a very good point. Temporary workers who come to Canada do not have the same rights as Canadians when it comes to workplace health and safety, nor do they have the same standard of living and wages as other Canadians.

Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act  Mr. Speaker, the member for Nickel Belt has been a very strong representative for northern Ontario in his years in the House, which I know he will continue to be. I talked about temporary foreign workers and the egregious striking out of those who have waited years to be sponsored to come to Canada.

Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act  Mr. Speaker, I would first like to say that I will share my time with the talented member for La Pointe-de-l'Île, who is new to the House and is doing an excellent job. She will speak second. I will start by saying that we are at second reading of a bill and we are of course talking about the principle of the bill.

Foreign Investment  Mr. Speaker, it is not scrutinized unless the government is consulting with Canadians. The small business minister also said yesterday, and I quote from Hansard, “the real individuals are those who pay corporate income tax”. What arrogance. We have one of the most significant takeovers in decades and the government is telling all Canadians that it is none of their business.

Foreign Investment  Mr. Speaker, let us go back two years when every single Conservative MP in the House voted to make public hearings a mandatory part of foreign investment review. That was on November 16, 2010. The government has simply stopped listening to Canadians. The minister for small business said yesterday that government has no role “interfering in a private decision” like the Nexen takeover bid.

Foreign Investment  Mr. Speaker, it is in the best interests of Canadians to actually hold public consultations. It is a few days away from the deadline. We are still waiting for the Conservatives to define net benefit, something they have been promising since 2010, and we have seen the consequences of inaction on this when we have watched companies like Vale Inco break their promises with impunity.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, in my colleague's speech and in every other speech from Conservatives so far today there have been some key words missing, like the words “Nexen” and “CNOOC”, actually words that relate to the motion before us. That would be the Conservatives dancing around an issue on which they do not seem to be inclined to listen to their constituents.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I was actually at the shareholders' meeting and, unfortunately, there was not a single Conservative MP present. This is part of our consultations. The NDP is consulting with everyone. That is why I have been to Calgary three times. The NDP industry critic has been to Calgary and Edmonton.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I absolutely agree with the member for Winnipeg North and welcome the Liberal Party finally getting engaged in this debate. We know there were 10,000 foreign investment applications approved when the Liberals were in power, all of them rubber stamped. They never rejected a single one and never attached conditions; they just let those takeovers accumulate.

Business of Supply  No, my colleagues remind me, nothing has been done in the last two years. Two months ago at the end of July this application was announced. At that time, the industry critic, the member for LaSalle—Émard, and I rose in a press conference to say very clearly that the commitments undertaken in 2010 needed to be brought forward in 2012 because the application was pending.

Business of Supply  No, my colleagues remind me again. Now we are a few days from the deadline. When the formal application came forward, the 45-day period started and we are now only a few days from the point when the government should be making an enlightened decision, given the importance of the file and the many letters and phone calls we are receiving from, and conversations we are having with, our constituents.

Business of Supply  There we go. What we have seen is a failure on the part of the government to keep that commitment of two years ago. The NDP provided clear direction. Every single member of the House of Commons said yes, that it was the direction in which the country should go. The government needed to take this direction from the House of Commons, and for two years nothing has been done.

Business of Supply  moved: That, in the opinion of the House, the government: (a) should not make a decision on the proposed takeover of Nexen by CNOOC without conducting thorough public consultations; (b) should immediately undertake transparent and accessible public hearings into the issue of foreign ownership in the Canadian energy sector with particular reference to the impact of state-owned enterprises; and (c) must respect its 2010 promise to clarify in legislation the concept of "net benefit" within the Investment Canada Act.