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NEWS: Harper government says no to public hearings on Chinese-bid for Nexen

Photo by Jacques Nadeau/ Le Devoir

Photo by Jacques Nadeau/ Le Devoir

“Oh no, we will oppose. What the NDP is asking is a public consultation (on China’s purchase of Nexen) and there is no way that, you know… What I’ve said is that we have the tools we need to determine whether the transaction will provide a net benefit to Canada.” – Christian Paradis, Industry Minister

Reuters reports, “Canada’s ruling Conservatives will defeat a parliamentary motion asking the government to hold public consultations during its review of the $15.1 billion bid by China’s state-owned CNOOC Ltd to buy Canadian oil company Nexen Inc, Industry Minister Christian Paradis said on Wednesday. …In addition to asking for public consultations on the merits of the deal, the NDP motion called for a clarification of the concept of ‘net benefit’ for Canada in making judgments on foreign takeovers, which critics say is too vague. It also calls for public hearings on the broader issue of foreign ownership in the Canadian energy sector. …Parliament is expected to vote on the motion, presented by the main opposition party, the New Democratic Party (NDP), later on Wednesday.”

For Council of Canadians commentary on CNOOC’s proposed purchase of Nexen, please see http://canadians.org/blog/?p=16632. The Reuters article is at http://ca.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idCABRE8910U220121003.