Industry committee  With the caveat that I am not an expert on Canadian investment law or on exactly how “net benefit” has been defined over time in Canada, I think it would be well worth looking at that closer and at exactly the requirements that are placed on foreign acquirers. There are many examples where Chinese companies have behaved in a manner that they....

Industry committee  Those are two specific issues that you raised. I think it's likely less of an issue for Canada because Chinese lenders are not necessarily lending significantly, that I am aware of, in any appreciable amount to either Chinese local governments or major Canadian industrial [Technical difficulty—Editor].

Industry committee  I would take a slightly more nuanced view but agree in, let's say, general terms. The general priorities that are set by China are laid down relatively regularly, annually, by top leadership, and they have very clear industrial targets. With the foreign exchange rationing that is effectively going on in China, when firms are going out abroad, either they are raising that capital outside of the Chinese markets so that it's in hard currency or they are being allocated that currency by SAFE, the FX regulator in China, which controls U.S. dollars.

Industry committee  Thank you very much. I will say at the outset that while I am not an expert on Canadian investment law, I believe I have the necessary expertise to speak on the threat of state-owned investment. Ladies and gentlemen of the committee, thank you for giving me this opportunity to talk with you today on a topic that I believe is of great importance in the world today.