An opinion piece by Diane Francis;
The new Game of Thrones is not about military conquest but about picking off trophy assets from countries, like Canada, that are Boy Scouts and naïve enough to let them do so. And growing and nurturing large successful entities is essential to any nation-state. Size matters.
h/t Brian
Yes, fully agree.
I fully agree. This sell must be stopped now.
Foreign (ideologically hostile) ownership of vital national resources – hmmm who would be mentally pixalated enough to come up with that policy? Mulcaire? Boob Rae?
I am also uncomfortable with a foreign government who want to take over a $10 B Canadian asset, even if they are will to pay $15 B for it.
But Dianne Francis takes this way to far: “Canada must state clearly that all of its resource-related and infrastructure assets and corporations must be Canadian-owned and controlled and that no single foreign entity can own more than 10%, as is the case with Canadian banks.”
Let all companies invest, foreign or not. This will let Canada develop our industries effectively. The way Canada limits foreign investment, and as Diane advocates limiting further, weakens existing Canadian companies because it prevents them from raising capital for expansion. It is why Blackberry can’t compete with Apple.
Canadian politicians for the last fifty years have exhibited the “boy scout” attitude to international business, from Trudeau who admired the communist Leaders of the day,to Chretien,who was willing to shill Canadian companies to the PRC,to Martin who was willing to give his ship building contracts to the PRC,to Harper, who seems to have an inordinate amount of trust in the PRC to do business as any other civilized Country would.
I don’t trust communist China,the PRC,period. They have a China first agenda,as they should,and will devour little boy scouts like Canada in a minute if it suits them. One commenter at the link says we should sell all our resource companies to them,take the money and invest in other businesses,then nationalize the Chinese owned resource companies.
Great idea, if we’re interested in a shooting war we couldn’t possibly win. And speaking of war, I read recently that there is great concern in the U.S. because China makes many of the electronic components of our weapons systems.
Maybe Canada isn’t the only “boy scout” out there.
Bah. Canadians sell themselves cheap and quick. According to Xaviera Hollander, Canadian women don’t even make good call girls, for that reason.
This is a questionable transaction for sure. Why would we let, in effect, the government of China buy a private Canadian company? It doesn’t make sense, and the large premium they’re willing to pay tells me China’s flush with foreign exchange, so this may be part of a spate of acquisitions as Francis argues – and for what end?
These scale of foreign investments have to be analyzed on a case by case, not ideological, basis, rather than a rubber stamp vrs veto approach.
John Robson’s take is even stronger than Francis’:
http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/07/28/dont-sell-nexen-to-communists
This deal should never see the light of day. Canada holds the oil card right now and they will buy from us no matter what we do; they need our oil – we have them over a barrel (pun alert).
This is a tough one for pain-in-the-ass libertarian purists like me! So, I’ll just nibble around the edges on this.
Why should WE (we?) allow China to buy a PRIVATE company? Oh, you mean, it’s not private then? We’re gonna be like China then?
Francis is a MERCANTILIST. She looks at foreign investment as war by other means. In reality, protectionism,foreign trade and investment restrictionism are warlike measures.
Anytime you see the words “government” and “nurture” in the same sentence STOP. What follows will be stuff and nonsense. What will Diane’s next column be about: incubating infant industries (which remain infants!).
SO, Canada is a small country that needs to NURTURE private companies? With what, Diane? More taxes, or out of the BIG GOVERNMENT CASH POT?
Canada is a small country without adequate capital SO, let’s authorize federal dead-ender bureaucrats to decide who invests and how much?
This is not fair or relevant, but what the hell. Diane was a big Obama fan, as I recall. So, maybe not that astute, what?
Once again the Nationalist types come forth! What about the shareholders of this company, do they not deserve the $ gain of the shares? Do the screamers even know anything about this company? It is an international company with a major stake in Buzzard, the large producing well off the shores of G.B., whose price helps establish Brent. Large tracts of off shore leases in the Gulf of Mexico. Holdings in the middle East. They have technological skills in Frakking and deep sea drilling – skills the Chinese need to exploit their domestic assets. Alberta owns the oil in Alberta Nexen just has the extraction rights, and needs capital.
What MND said. I’ll add that Franicis is a swirling vortex of imbecility. Do not read her it is hazardous to your brain. Terence Corcoran had a much better piece up stating that China’s companies-even the state entities-are fairly benign and act largely according to free market principles. CSIS should keep an eye on them and that’s a small price to pay for so much investment when it is so badly needed.
I agree with her argument on the basis of reciprocity and state-owned entities as there shouldn’t be such monstrosities. I don’t have a problem with foreign privately owned take-overs that come from jurisdictions that allow the same although tracking the origins of such capital might not be that easy.
Interesting that Francis likes and advocates their two child law but doesn’t like their predatory state investment policies.
When a foreign govt owned company gets more than 10 to 15% ownership of a resource then yes we should examine and likely act on restricting more ownership. This deal might be 1/2 of 1% of the asset.
Francis ignores the fact that were it not for foreign investment there would be no oilsands industry – or an oil industry.
Lost in the discussion is any mention of who owns the resource and their say in the matter. Whatever happened to our property rights (we have them, even though they are not enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights).
Perhaps Dianne might think differently of a law that prevents her from selling her home to anyone who resides outside her postal code. Or selling her journalistic output to anything but the local community rag.
The hypothetical parochialism of my example may seem absurd, but it is simply an extension of the same principle espoused by Ms Francis.
Big Whoop. Most Canadians sold themselves out years ago,starting with electing Turdeau,then further leftards federally,and leftards provincially.If the import herself,Dianne,and any other whiners want sympathy,it’s in the dictionary,right between sh1t and syphillis.
I do not read Dianne Francis anymore after her article about two years ago that there were 6 billion too many people on earth. She did not elaborate as to whether Stalin’s or Pol Pot’s remedy would fix the problem. She has drunk too much of the progressive koolaid.
me no dhimmi – I like your comments very much. Makes a lot of sense.
And Mikewa – same thing; makes sense.
Communist China has no respect for the rule of law, as demonstrated by Sinopec not paying their employees and ignoring health and safety rules other companies have to abide by.
Add in a direct export route to China (pipeline), and who’s to say how much oil they’re actually sending to China?
Ken Kulak: I’m with you. Francis has no credibility.
Me No Dhimmi: You’re absolutely right. Francis’ perspective on economics is skewed leftwards. She’s a mercantilist.
Woodporter: Absolutely. Do we have property rights or not? It’s like free speech. Free speech only matters when you say something that some people don’t like. The concept of free speech restricted by personal responsibility and sensibility is complete hogwash. Property rights are the same. They don’t really matter when you own an acre of swampland in the Yukon. They do matter when the property is deemed important by some schlep like Francis – that’s when you need property rights.
Blindingly stupid question here: How much of the ‘Canadian’ oil patch is Canadian owned? Does it make any difference? I remember years ago when the Canadian oilmen had to go to the US to get funding for their operations since the Upper Canada bigots wouldn’t even look at a man in a stetson let alone invest in his business.
What she is advocating is the wealth of Canada should be restricted to the Montreal-Toronto old money, union pension funds e.g. Ontario Teachers and provincial funds such as Quebec’s Caisse. They are the only ones in Canada with deep pockets for such massive asset sales. The shallow pool will limit the price paid for the asset and keep the oligarchy in a privilged position. Sweet deal for them; bad for the sellers of the asset.
Is China on some secret mission to dominate the globe? Maybe. Or maybe they are ensuring access to resources for their future economic growth. Is there these same natural resources in China? Don’t know but it will take decades to find and develop the resources if they do in fact exist. Better to buy existing resources around the world. One thing for sure, it will ensure sales of our natural resources to China for the next few decades.
The lib-retardians can go F**K themselves.
Allowing a communist imperialist potentially agressive foriegn nation to hold an inordinate share of Canada’s most important resource is the equivalent of suicide.
Libertrians and Liberals are cut from the same cloth. Anything goes as long as *!I”M OK!!!*
The lib-retardians can go F**K themselves.
Allowing a communist imperialist potentially agressive foriegn nation to hold an inordinate share of Canada’s most important resource is the equivalent of suicide.
Libertrians and Liberals are cut from the same cloth. Anything goes as long as *!I”M OK!!!*
this is the one thing i am against EZRA LEVANT ON !!
this is the one thing i am against EZRA LEVANT ON !!
Some countries sell their soul for investment by the Chinese or any other power. This sort of reactionary bilge from Francis is talk of a nation without confidence.
Let China buy Nexen.The cash will go to investors who wil use it to develop other companies or industries which could have greater potential for growth.
It blows my mind that people stil talk this way.
Some countries sell their soul for investment by the Chinese or any other power. This sort of reactionary bilge from Francis is talk of a nation without confidence.
Let China buy Nexen.The cash will go to investors who wil use it to develop other companies or industries which could have greater potential for growth.
It blows my mind that people stil talk this way.
Folks,there’s no need to post two or three times to make your point. We get it.
China is our friend, we should sell the whole f’ing Country to them,they’re nice people!
Except for the ruling elite of China,who aren’t.
I don’t like,or trust communists,whether the name is Trudeau,Obama,Mulcair,or the PRC.
I don’t like,or trust communists…
Me either, they’re partners in this pipeline project. Any guesses how much royalty free oil will flow through it?
Deal with crooks and you will be burned…
Not to mention the ethical oil argument will be gone…
As I said above,Francis is a ‘Merican import. She is also a Huffington Post contributor.Her “finacial” creds equate to her being able to say “want fries with that?”.She is just PO’d that Canada is doing waayyy better then her Zero led country.
And we can sell our assets and resources to anybody we damn well please.Her only true bitch is it ain’t going to Morontario or Queerbec,but to the eeevvvillll west(read AB).As soon as she said “colony”,you know her true feelings.
Hey Diane.You want our oil so damn bad back in Chigaco,help vote out the Zero.Or won’t your political masters at the NP and DC let you say as much?
Failure’s a beeyotch,suck it up,buttercup.
The rules of business like the rules of war … are essentially that there ar no rules.
Why should the Canadian government prevent a hostile foreign interest from gaining control over a domestic resource? Because whether or not you like to think of it in these terms … this IS WAR.
Giving your opponents any advantage is treasonous surrender.
Let CNOOC develop their own damned resources or continue to meddle in the mideast to gain advantage.
And we can sell our assets and resources to anybody we damn well please.
Sure we can. Getting paid is another matter. We’re still owed billions for wheat ‘sold’ to another communist country.
The issue of the Chinese state oil comnpany’s effort to take over Nexen is simply resolved:
Yes, private companies can take over private companies in Canada, but as the Canadian state deosn’t own companies, nor can other Nation States.
Therefore, the Chinese government takeover of oil comapnies in Canada are not allowed.
One tiny bit of trivia. Nexen has oil plays across the globe. Yes they have assets in Western Canada but they also have plays in the North Sea, Africa, and Central America.
It might be a good idea to place mineral rights into those things in the preserve of canadian owned entities.
If the Chi-coms (for example) want to buy the rusting hulks of sewing machine factories in Ontario, sure, have at ‘er. We can build more of those if required. But the mineral rights are different and should be maintained as national securities.
I’m not one for protectionist sentiment, so this feels quite odd to me.
Until China becomes a normal trading country like Germany, or UK, or Japan meaning they halt the piracy, the state sponsored economic espionage, state industries, easy access to capital for pet industries,etc.,they will be treated as China treats all other nations. That means, until China shows perfect reciprocity, and lets foreigners buy, say CNOOC, they can forget access to the companies that are crown jewels. They can buy the oil, but they can’t buy the security of owning the fields, or technology.
Another bit of trvia. Nexen was origanally Canadian Occidental, or CanOxy, a subsidiary of the Ameican-owned Occidental Petroleum. CanOxy bought Wascana, which was born as a result of the privatization of SaskOil, the state-owned oil company started by the Sask NDP in the 1970s.
In the early 2000s, CanOxy wanted to separate itself from the now-minority Occidental ownership. As part of the re-branding, they asked employees to submit potential names of the new company, and they ended up wth Nexen, which is what their marketing consultants suggested.
Anyways, this was an American company which became a Canadian one, bought out a former Crown corporation, and now is about to be bought by the Chinese.
I’m not entirely sure where Diane Franicis fits in the history of the company I listed above, but I’m sure sheplayed a critical role in its development. Otherwise, why would she take issue with the purchase of company from one country by another country?
this IS WAR.
Only in the fevered imagination of area sinophobes. China has shown no aggression towards Canada at all.
I’m not sure whether or not I agree with her.
On a related note though, should foreign nationals be allowed to purchased unlimited amounts of property in Canada? Here in Vancouver we have many, many streets where 10% – 50% of the houses are empty most of the year – because they’re owned by foreigners who don’t live there. Is that healthy for the community?
“….lets foreigners buy, say CNOOC,…”
One part of the deal is to list CNOOC on North American exchanges. Then you “nationalists” can do your bit of foreign ownership and take the risks that go with it, just like Nexen shareholders did – in foreign oilfields.
What, scared to do so? Then that is why this country is such a sh!thole for people willing to take a risk. Stick to GIC’s, they’re your level on investment illiteracy.
No Robert W, it’s not healthy.
I’m not real comfortable suggesting that foreign investment be shut down, but it would soon change all that if the Chi-coms started buying up land and exporting so much that it affected our food prices. It’s one thing to buy a factory, another to buy the land / mineral rights.
Robert – you might like to put that question to Vancouver real estate agents and the cash these people bring into Canada, right into their pockets. As long as they pay their city taxes on those properties, what’s your beef? Would you support a ban on Albertans buying vacation property in the Okanagan as well, because they only live there part of the time?
Yawn.
Foreign ownership is a big empty bogeyman tailor-made for neurotic nationalists.
Chinese ownership of Nexen signifies much less than it would appear.
Canada is a sovereign state and, in the final instance, like any sovereign state, can exercise its right to nationalize foreign-owned companies at any time should it feel they somehow constitute a threat to our national interests.
“As long as they pay their city taxes on those properties, what’s your beef? Would you support a ban on Albertans buying vacation property in the Okanagan as well, because they only live there part of the time?”
Sssh…
The way the premier of BC has been acting lately, that might be her next bright idea…
JIM >
“…like any sovereign state, can exercise its right to nationalize foreign-owned companies at any time should it feel they somehow constitute a threat to our national interests.”
Yea well having the Chinese go along with that later on after the fact can be a whole different matter.
I’m reminded a little of the British Empire owning Irish properties and commodities in the 1800’s. Worked out well for the Canadian, Australian, and US labor markets, not so well for the Irish in Ireland.
LAS you’re an idiot.
China has shown no aggression towards Canada at all.
Was there some kind of a Trojan dragon? Or just the horse, so far?
If anyone is naive enough to think China has shown no aggression towards Canada at all, they should google “China Canada cyber attack”.
Nexen isn’t owned by Canada anymore then the keyboard I’m typing this on is owned by Canada. Its owned by Canadians, there is a difference. Last time I checked Canadians where free and conservatives didn’t support the government dictating to them.
Nexen holds mineral rights in Canada for both oil/gas as well as oilsands. I could be argued that Alberta shouldn’t sell those rights to foreign countries, but those minerals belong to the people of Alberta, not Canada. But if the people of Alberta are getting their fair royalties for the resource and its developed under the same rules/regulations, what difference does it make?
Tell me why shouldn’t the shareholders be able to realize a profit on their investment? Are the Chinese going to move the oil out of Alberta in secret without paying for it? Find ways to drill for it without employing Canadians?
Wouldn’t the northern gateway pipeline be a bigger threat to selling out our resources to the Chinese?
I wish Canadians would invest in thier own Nation