SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 240 - Oct/26/23

Mr. Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay (Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, BQ)

Oct/26/23 4:09:26 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-34

Mr. Speaker, you picked the wrong member for a short 15‑second question. You know me. The time is already almost up. We welcome the progress and the improvements that the bill makes to the current act, but why are the rules still so slack, and why is there so little scrutiny?

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Context: House Hansard - 240 - Oct/26/23

Mr. Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay (Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, BQ)

Oct/26/23 4:21:17 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-34

Mr. Speaker, my colleague was criticizing the Bloc Québécois for voting against the Conservative amendments. I just want to make it clear that the Conservative amendments were intended to label just about every state-owned enterprise not run by our Five Eyes partners as hostile. I do not know if he is aware that 40% of European investments made in Canada are made in Quebec. One example is Airbus, which builds Airbus A220s in Mirabel in partnership with the Quebec government. We would have looked pretty silly if the Conservative amendments had been adopted.

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Context: House Hansard - 240 - Oct/26/23

Mr. Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay (Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, BQ)

Oct/26/23 5:37:00 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-34

Madam Speaker, my colleague is a Quebec MP. I suspect he is sensitive to the interests of Quebec. Some of the Conservative amendments proposed during the review of Bill C‑34 may have cast suspicion on certain foreign state-owned companies outside the Five Eyes group. What impact would that have had on the A220 aircraft currently being assembled in Mirabel in partnership with the government of Quebec? What impact would that have had on the fact that 40% of European investments in Canada take place in Quebec? I think it would have hurt.

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Context: House Hansard - 240 - Oct/26/23

Mr. Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay (Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, BQ)

Oct/26/23 5:43:03 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-34

Madam Speaker, I rise in the House today to speak to Bill C‑34 as the Bloc Québécois critic for international trade. This bill seeks to improve the Canada Investment Act to add certain control mechanisms for foreign investments that might undermine national security. Is Canada, a laggard in so many sectors and industries that have an undeniable strategic value, breaking from its idyllic vision of globalization where humankind would unite in joy at the abolition of states and in the feel-good naivety of laissez-faire? Sadly, we are not there yet. Let us only consider the lack of aerospace policy or how Ottawa shrugs its shoulders to the softwood lumber crises and the forestry issues. Let us be clear, globalization has not abolished state strategies, powers, empires, nor hegemonies. To believe the contrary is to be vulnerable to those who have completely grasped the reality. That reality is one of conflict and a lasting economic war, corollary of a geopolitical confrontation between major world powers. The main weapon of this economic war is intelligence, economic espionage and obtaining information through aggressive trade. When we lose a headquarters, it is not just the pride of seeing a leading player leave that is at stake; it is effectively a loss of power. Although Bill C‑34 does not go far enough, it does make seven worthwhile changes including the following: new filing requirement prior to the implementation of investments in prescribed business sectors; authority for the minister to extend the national security review of investments; stronger penalties for non-compliance; authority for the minister to impose conditions during a national security review; a ministerial power to accept undertakings to mitigate the risk of national security breaches; improved information sharing with international counterparts; and new rules to protect information during a judicial review. We support the committee's efforts to broaden the notion of sensitive sectors to include intellectual property and databases containing personal information, and to improve Bill C‑34. We are also pleased that the committee rejected the proposed Conservative amendments, which sought to have all foreign Crown corporations considered hostile unless they belong to the the Five Eyes. This threatened the interests of Quebec, which accounts for 40% of Canada's European investments. Let us consider, for example, Airbus, a French-German state-owned corporation that manufactures its A220 aircraft in Mirabel, in partnership with the Quebec government. This kind of progress should be commended. These measures are inspired by the American model—

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