Clement Says Cnooc-Nexen Public Hearings Would Be Illegal

Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) --The government would be breaking the law by yielding to pressure from the opposition New Democratic Party to hold public hearings into Cnooc Ltd. (883)’s takeover of Nexen Inc. (NXY), Treasury Board President Tony Clement said.

The NDP, the biggest opposition party in the country’s legislature, introduced a motion yesterday calling on the government to hold public hearings “into the issue of foreign ownership in the Canadian energy sector with particular reference to the impact of state-owned enterprises.”

Beijing-based Cnooc has offered to acquire Nexen, a Calgary-based oil and gas producer, for $15.1 billion. The government is reviewing the proposal under the country’s foreign-takeover law, known as the Investment Canada Act.

“Basically they’re calling on the government of Canada to break the law,” Clement said in an interview today after giving a speech in Ottawa. “The law is very clear. Under the Investment Canada Act, there is a legal process that if you diverge from that process in any way, you are going to be subject to legal consequences.”

The motion is scheduled to be debated today and voted on tomorrow.

Original Article
Source: bloomberg
Author: Andrew Mayeda

Public opinion 'crystallizing' against Nexen deal, NDP says

The NDP urged the federal government on Tuesday not to rubber-stamp a bid by China’s CNOOC Ltd. to buy oil company Nexen Inc. without public consultations, saying opinion had hardened against the deal.

Peter Julian, the energy critic for the party, which forms the official opposition in the House of Commons, said the party had not yet formally decided whether to oppose the $15.1-billion (U.S.) takeover bid even though its leader, Thomas Mulcair, said last month he had “grave concerns” about it.

Issues Poll Hints At Motivation For Conservative Policies

Canadians want better health care and more jobs. These are the findings of a new poll of Canadians’ priorities, but in addition to these usual top issues the survey shows some interesting perspectives on the problems facing the country.

Unsurprisingly, 95 per cent of Canadians said "improving the quality of our health care system" was a top or moderate priority in the Ipsos-Reid poll for Postmedia News taken at the end of September. Also unshocking was the 94 per cent who said the same about "creating jobs," though interestingly residents of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba were less likely to call this a top priority, undoubtedly due to their buzzing economies.

Court tosses fines against environmentalists

OTTAWA – An Ontario court has tossed out fines issued to a group of 13 environmentalists who were detained by the RCMP during a peaceful protest on Parliament Hill in September 2011 when they challenged the federal government’s climate change policies.

One member of the group, Graham Saul, 41, welcomed the provincial court decision by Justice Paulina Brecher on Tuesday, saying it protected their “right and responsibility” to protest “the reckless climate change and energy policies of the Harper government.”

B.C. could withhold electricity from proposed pipelines, Premier suggests

British Columbia Premier Christy Clark has issued a veiled threat to withhold electricity needed to operate controversial oil sands pipelines if the projects do not meet her demands.

Ms. Clark, when asked Tuesday what steps her province could take to block projects like Enbridge Inc.’s Northern Gateway, went beyond pointing to the 60 regulatory permits B.C. could deny.

Alison Redford ordered in $24 coffee on taxpayers’ dime, and other revelations from her expense reports

EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Alison Redford has released copies of all her travel, hosting and meal expenses from the nearly five years she has served in government.

The receipts and expense forms date from the time when she first became an MLA in March 2008, through her four years as justice minister and the past year as premier.

A quick analysis of the receipts offers a glimpse into the daily life of a top-level politician. They show a mix of relatively inexpensive meals along with a handful of much more costly bills, particularly when Redford has travelled on government business.

Council of Canadians urges premiers to insist on a national pharmacare plan

Canada's health ministers met in Halifax September 27-28 to discuss the 2014 health accord, the recommendations coming out of the Council of the Federations' Innovation working group, and how to work together to improve health care without leadership from the federal government.

In July, the premiers announced that provinces would begin work on bulk purchasing two to three generic drugs. The advantage with bulk purchasing is that provinces and territories can often get a better deal with pharmaceutical manufacturers the more they buy. Currently, provinces and territories negotiate one-on-one with pharmaceutical companies and due to a non-disclosure clause they're often unaware of what the other provinces or territories paid for the same drug from the same manufacturer. Less populous provinces or territories are likely to purchase less of any drug and therefore they pay a higher price per pill.

A few kind words for corporate tax cuts

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And yet the report in question, released earlier this month by renowned Canadian tax expert Jack Mintz and co-author Duanjie Chen and published by the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy, ought to be required reading for all politicians. Especially those for whom the notion that corporations aren’t paying their “fair share” has particular appeal.

City reaps windfall from sale of its stake in energy corporation

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Brookfield Asset Management, which has agreed to buy all of Enwave, will pay the municipality $168-million for its 43-per cent stake, about $100-million more than the city’s investment in the company.

Canada’s shrinking aerospace horizon

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The head of Héroux-Devtek Inc. spent decades building the Montreal company into a thriving maker of aircraft landing gear, airframes and industrial turbines with an ambitious growth strategy.

But in a strategic about-face in July, the company announced a plan to focus on its landing-gear business and sell most assets in its other divisions. Mr. Labbé said the board, fed up with the company’s languishing stock price, decided to sell non-core assets in a bid to boost shareholder value as a “pure play.”