BC Southern Interior MP Alex Atamanenko is appalled that the Conservative government has decided to rubber stamp the Nexen takeover deal by CNOOC without consulting Canadians and without saying which criteria were used to make the decision.
“The Conservatives have even admitted that under the new rules the takeover is not a net benefit to Canadians, but they have approved it anyway,” stated the B.C. MP.
According to Atamanenko, the sale of Nexen to Chinese state-owned CNOOC raises broad concerns and allows a foreign government to own Canadian natural resources. The majority of Canadians clearly indicated that they were opposed to the deal due to CNOOC’s poor human and environmental rights record, as well as the fact that CNOOC sees itself as the foreign policy arm of the Chinese government.
“New Democrats have been pushing for a clear definition of “net benefit” when it comes to the kind of foreign investments we allow, as well as for more transparency and public consultations,” noted Atamanenko. “If the Conservatives had kept their promise when they voted in favour of the 2010 NDP motion to fix the broken Investment Canada Act, we would not be in this mess.”
Atamanenko says New Democrats consulted widely in Calgary and across the country and announced in October that this takeover was not in Canada’s best interest and should not be allowed to go through.
According to NDP Natural Resource critic, Peter Julian, “Canadians should be very apprehensive about the long-term economic and environmental consequences. In the past, these kinds of takeovers have resulted in job losses.”
“Besides doing nothing to protect our ability to regulate the sustainable development of our own natural resources this government did not even get a commitment from CNOOC to protect our workers or guarantee long term, value-added jobs here in Canada,” concluded Atamanenko.
