Ottawa – Maude Barlow, national chairperson of the Council of Canadians, makes the following statement on the decision by the Harper government to approve the sale of Canadian energy firm Nexen to CNOOC of China:
“We are deeply concerned by the takeover because investment, foreign or otherwise, is the last thing we need more of in the tar sands and shale gas. We need to be phasing out dirty energy, not handing over huge concessions to multinational corporations. This takeover by CNOOC gives Canadians even more reason to speak up loudly against Harper’s Foreign Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement, which will give Chinese firms the same excessive rights U.S. firms have in NAFTA to challenge environmental, conservation or public health decisions in Canada. In the past year, Canada has been hit with about $2.5 billion worth of investor lawsuits under FIPA-like rules in NAFTA. Harper needs to tear up the investment treaty with China and under no circumstances include FIPA-like investor rights in the Canada-EU trade deal.”
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