Industry committee  That's what some people say.

Industry committee  I recognize the inequity when there is lack of reciprocity. On the other hand, the argument used with respect to international trade issues is that if you start closing down and saying you're not open except for A, B, and C, ultimately that is going to result in a—

Industry committee  Well, I think we'd probably have trouble investing in many sectors in China as well, but that doesn't mean that Chinese investment in Canada is not beneficial.

Industry committee  That's something that can be negotiated bilaterally between the countries. I'm not sure that using an individual transaction is the best way to go about it.

Industry committee  It's taking off the good stuff.

Industry committee  I can't comment on the reasons for their doing it and what their long-term plan is—

Industry committee  It's a difficult question for me to answer without knowing all the facts. The way you've described it, it certainly sounds bad.

Industry committee  Well, I don't know, but if any company is doing that and is then planning to sell the company in the future, presumably the company will be worth less if all they've got left is the low-grade stuff,. I can't comment on it in any particular—

Industry committee  Presumably they also want to preserve the value of the asset in order to get the highest value for it when they sell it.

Industry committee  Reciprocity is a very big question. That's the reason people negotiate investment treaties. The idea is to open all sectors to investment for the two countries involved, or multilaterally as well. It's probably erroneous to use the Investment Canada Act to stop investments because the other country wouldn't let us into their country.

Industry committee  I don't know that I said they were.... What I said was that the Investment Canada Act looks like general framework legislation, and it may look more daunting than that of some other countries that may look carefully at specific sectors. Despite the Investment Canada Act, I think Canada has generally been viewed by foreign investors as a fairly open place, but there have been these hiccups along the way.

Industry committee  In what specific sense do you mean transparent?

Industry committee  I think it's up to the company, as opposed to having the government dictate how the company addresses it. In certain instances you may have transparency. For a public company, for example--

Industry committee  As I said before, I think you may find the extent of the transparency in press releases that were issued by the government or in the company press releases related to it, and in some cases they don't provide much detail.

Industry committee  Probably not; I think you need to—