Industry committee  Yes, definitely. You've put your finger on an important aspect. We obviously want to know what principles, rules and criteria are being used to justify blocking a foreign takeover. We also want to know which ones were chosen and used. That will increase confidence not only among

Industry committee  Yes, that's one possible avenue. It raises technical questions under the act, and substantial amendments would have to be made to other acts on top of the Investment Canada Act. This kind of thing is already happening, because there is such a thing as preferred shares, which pri

Industry committee  In light of everything we've heard today, it's hard to see what arguments you could make in favour of imposing a moratorium that wouldn't be permanent. For instance, the arguments used to justify distrust of China won't go away after the crisis. How could anyone justify amendin

Industry committee  People say that these types of measures would result in a change in culture and properly applied governance practices in businesses and in Canada. That's what makes the laws as effective as possible. We know that a law is only effective if people obey it. Over the years we have

Industry committee  Taking away these voting rights puts the decision to reinstate them in the hands of the other shareholders, once they've seen how the takeover is going to go. Then the other shareholders can either void the new buyer's power or attach conditions to that power. That leads us to c

Industry committee  I'm not necessarily talking about provincial measures. The measures we want to advance should be applied at both the provincial and federal levels. You know that there's a provincial law, but also a federal law on business corporations. When we look at all the businesses in Queb

Industry committee  This legislation does not go far enough and would be unnecessary if these measures were applied like we are suggesting. We wouldn't need legislation like this if the other laws could be amended in such a way as to help protect corporations.

Industry committee  It's been 25 years. Our organization was founded in 1995.

Industry committee  Let me repeat that this legislation is a measure of last resort. It's really at the end of the road when we need it. We're saying that a number of measures are already on the table and that they need to be implemented. The challenge we're facing right now basically has to do with

Industry committee  Bombardier's situation is not due to the current crisis. The stock price fell to a level that would make Bombardier ineligible. The act should be amended to protect major corporations like Bombardier. There's a whole list of companies that won't benefit from the protective mecha

Industry committee  I went over that in my presentation. There are basically five possible measures, but I won't have time to list them all. The one that interests us most is enshrining in law a corporate fiduciary duty to respect the interests of all stakeholders. We've been fighting this fight for

Industry committee  Can you hear me better now?

Industry committee  This means that if a company has multiple voting shares, a controlling shareholder with multiple voting shares can block a takeover bid. The protection of the company rests on the shoulders of a single shareholder, who is generally the company founder. We long ago adopted the co

Industry committee  Hello, everyone. I'd like to start by saying that we believe the Investment Canada Act is legislation that is absolutely essential in any nation, no matter how democratic, but that it clearly does not go far enough. This act is the final link in a chain of provisions that should