* MP makes charge during debate on CNOOC bid for Nexen
* NDP seeks public consultation, definition of “net benefit”
* Parliament debating deal all day Tuesday
* Opposition raises national security concerns
* Gov’t promises policy statement alongside Nexen decision
By Louise Egan and Randall Palmer
OTTAWA, Oct 2 (Reuters) – Canada’s Conservative government
will commit treason if it approves a $15.1 billion bid by
China’s state-owned CNOOC Ltd to buy Canadian oil
company Nexen Inc, opposition Member of Parliament Pat
Martin said on Tuesday.
Martin was speaking during debate in the House of Commons on
a motion by his left-leaning New Democratic Party demanding that
the government hold public consultations before deciding whether
to approve the deal.
He said China had displaced Canadian jobs in the garment
industry in his electoral district and in the high-tech sector,
“and now we’re going to let the nation state of China come in
and buy up our natural resources as well?” he asked.
“Anybody that considers allowing this deal, I accuse them of
economic treason,” the maverick MP said.
His position is not the formal policy of the NDP, though
party leader Thomas Mulcair has voiced “grave concerns” about
the Nexen takeover.
The NDP forced an all-day debate on the deal on Tuesday, and
the party’s energy critic, Peter Julian, urged the government
not to give it routine approval.
“Before the government moves to rubber-stamp (the deal),
consult the public,” Julian told the House.
There is little chance that the demand for consultation will
be met, given that the Conservatives have a majority in
Parliament. But the debate has raised the prominence of the
transaction, which has generated sharp questions about how to
treat bids from Communist China’s state-owned enterprises.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said the government will
take public opinion into account.
“What we’re finding is public opinion is crystallizing
around this deal with more and more concerns,” Julian told
reporters before the debate started.
Julian said that even in his Vancouver district, where oil
industry affairs are usually of little interest, the Nexen deal
has been the No. 1 issue for his constituents. The most recent
poll showed that 69 percent of Canadians oppose the deal.
The NDP also wants public hearings into the broader issue of
foreign ownership in the Canadian energy sector, particularly
regarding acquisitions by foreign state-owned enterprises.
Under Canadian law, the industry minister must review any
foreign investment worth more than C$330 million ($337 million)
to determine whether it is of net benefit to Canada.
The NDP also wants to clarify the concept of “net benefit”,
which critics complain is too vague.
Treasury Board President Tony Clement, a former industry
minister, said public consultations would breach secrecy
requirements of the law.
“Basically, they’re calling on the government of Canada to
break the law,” he said, according to a transcript provided by
his office. “The law is very clear under the Investment Canada
Act. There’s a legal process that if you diverge from that
process in any way, you’re going to be subject to legal
consequences.”
But NDP leader Mulcair called that assertion “pathetically
absurd” and pointed to a clause in the law that
says the minister “may consult with, and organize conferences
of, representatives of industry and labor, provincial and local
authorities and other interested persons.”
Another section of the law states that publicly available
information is exempt from the law’s secrecy provisions as is
any information the foreign investor agrees to release.
Nexen has a substantial interest in northern Alberta’s oil
sands, among the world’s biggest crude reserves. The debate over
how to handle the possibility of a state-owned Chinese firm
extending its foothold there pits fears about national security
and control of strategic resources against the need for capital.
The NDP is clearly suspicious of the deal.
“Who names CNOOC’s chair?…It is named by the Politburo. It
is confirmed by the Central Committee (of the Communist Party of
China). That I think indicates it is very much a state-owned
entity and not independent,” Julian said.
Several speakers referenced a report by Canada’s spy agency,
the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, which said some bids
by state-owned enterprises to gain control over strategic
sectors of the economy could threaten national security.
On Friday, the government said it was aware of an attempt by
hackers to target a domestic energy firm. It would not comment
on a report that suggested a Chinese connection.
Harper has promised to clarify the government’s position on
foreign investment in the oil sector, particularly by
state-owned investors.
“There will be a policy statement surrounding these issues
and that will provide greater clarity,” Natural Resources
Minister Joe Oliver said in Toronto. “We expect it around the
time of the Nexen decision,”
Conservative members of Parliament were largely silent,
noting only that Industry Minister Christian Paradis would act
in the best interests of Canada.
The biggest champion of free enterprise in the cabinet,
Maxime Bernier, minister of state for small business and
tourism, said: “We are a government that is open to investment.”
He did not say if he favored the CNOOC bid, but asked:
“When the shareholders nearly unanimously approve the sale of
their shares, why would the state interfere in the private
decision of an investor? That is the general principle we have
to keep in mind.”
