Industry committee  No, but I think this is a decision of the minister, and it might well slow down the process, which already takes quite a long time.

Industry committee  Well, maybe in theory they could, but I think it might lengthen the process. Also, there is a consultation process with the provinces provided for in the act, and someone with a view on a particular transaction can make submissions, as we saw in the matter of the PotashCorp decis

Industry committee  I act for both.

Industry committee  But under the Investment Canada Act, it's the purchaser's responsibility to go through the process, so you are way more involved if you are the purchaser's counsel.

Industry committee  Well, we have this general framework. Other countries have national security as a screening mechanism. I don't know if you read in the paper today, but Italy is standing in the way of Parmalat being bought by a foreign, I think French, company. If you look in the books--not meani

Industry committee  Well, if you read their press release--and I had to write a paper recently on this, so I actually bothered to read their press release--it's quite clear that they withdrew because they didn't think they could get it through the Investment Canada process. In that sort of situation

Industry committee  Yes. I think the minister—

Industry committee  The minister is never able to relay confidential information.

Industry committee  However, I don't think the minister is prevented. The minister may issue a decision in relation to an approval and is required to issue decisions in relation to a disapproval, a rejection. I'm not sure, and I haven't actually studied that particular sentence, but there may be a b

Industry committee  Yes. I've been through the process enough to have a good idea of what the factors will be and how they will be considered. Absolutely.

Industry committee  Sure. I can tell you off the top of my head the ones in section 20, but I'd say the hit parade would be the participation of Canadians and senior management, head office location, capital expenditures, employment levels, any technology transfer, and that sort of thing. Those woul

Industry committee  There's a section in there that refers to national and industrial and economic policies of the federal government or the provincial government; of course, it doesn't say political considerations.

Industry committee  When making the decision, the federal minister has to take provincial policies into account. It's in the act. I'm not within the federal government, but from what I understand, the people within the investment review division at Industry Canada seek the views of their counterpart

Industry committee  The follow-up process involves a monitoring process. I think you've heard from other Industry Canada officials that there's a review process that usually occurs at the 18-month mark; it may also occur at the three-year mark for three-year undertakings, so there is ongoing monitor

Industry committee  After the undertakings are negotiated and the deal has been approved, in a lot of cases, particularly high-profile cases, there will be the issuance of a press release that will contain a high-level summary of the undertakings. The question is, what level of detail do you provide