Industry committee  As I've said, I think the rule of law is very important. My comments have really focused on the rule of law. One of the downsides of the proposed bill is that it allows for secret proceedings to occur in Federal Court regarding national security issues, and investors don't really have an opportunity to test the sufficiency or the reliability of the government evidence.

Industry committee  It's an excellent question, Mr. Green, and I thank you for raising it. It's one of the biggest challenges that advisers have for investors. Investors may believe they are buying a business or investing in a technology for perfectly benign use. However, that technology, as you know, could have military or other applications.

Industry committee  I'm happy to take a cut at that. Prior to this bill, a filing was mandatory if there was an acquisition of control. When you're dealing with a target corporation, that threshold can be as low as 33.3%, so you don't actually need to own a majority of the voting shares of an entity to trigger a filing requirement.

Industry committee  Quite possibly, Mr. Green. That is one of the conditions the minister might be able to impose on a foreign buyer. We've recently seen that universities are also being much more prudent about the contracting practices they're engaging in, as has the government. There are opportunities in those contracts to put in change of control provisions that would allow the government or a university to exercise its rights over intellectual property prior to a takeover transaction.

Industry committee  I'm saying both options are available, Mr. Green. The minister has that prerogative under the new statute, but universities and the Government of Canada could also ensure that in their funding contracts, they have the commercial rights available to them to make sure they own the IP that has been jointly developed, or to ensure they receive the payout of funding, either prior to closing or before closing.

Industry committee  I've worked on dozens of transactions, Mr. Green. I can't remember them all offhand.

Industry committee  I don't remember, Mr. Green. I work on a lot of transactions, so it's conceivable that some of the businesses whose clients I've acted for have received some government funding.

Industry committee  Yes.

Industry committee  It's the same with me, yes.

Industry committee  The major transactions that I've worked on are available in my bio on my website, Mr. Green. You're welcome to—

Industry committee  Sure. That's no problem. I've acted for state-owned companies from Asia, from Europe and from the Middle East as well.

Industry committee  They're from China, from Korea, from Norway—many countries.

Industry committee  It's an excellent question. We want to be encouraging investments, particularly in Quebec. Quebec has a burgeoning technology centre. It has a technology industry. It has a fantastic aerospace industry. There's a long history of mining in Quebec. I agree with you, Mr. Lemire, that we want to make sure that changes to the Investment Canada Act continue to encourage investors from around the world to see what a great place Quebec is to make investments and what a fantastic workforce it has, and to see the contributions that the graduates of Quebec's fantastic universities are making to the economy.

Industry committee  Yes. I think we should consider adding a special advocate provision to proposed section 25.7, which is included in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. There is a precedent or model there. If an investment goes into judicial review, we should consider having a similar process included in this statute as well.

Industry committee  Mr. Chair and committee members, thank you for the invitation to appear today. I'll keep my opening remarks very brief. My name is Josh Krane. I'm a partner in the competition and foreign investment group at McMillan. I've represented many foreign buyers and Canadian businesses in connection with investment transactions that have been subject to the ICA.