The Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa is seen, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, on Saturday, April 18, 2020.The federal government is following the lead of other countries and tightening scrutiny of foreign takeovers of Canadian firms whose values have plummeted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The change follows in the footsteps of countries like Australia, Germany, Spain and France that have taken steps to limit or further scrutinize takeovers from foreign investors. A month into the pandemic, innovation and legal experts say Canada’s move comes late and that it shouldn’t just be limited to the pandemic’s time-frame as COVID-19 has laid bare the country’s vulnerabilities when it is too reliant on international players for critical goods.
Mr. Bains’ office did not say whether it has already identified foreign entities trying to take advantage of the lower valuations of many companies, but the Canadian Chamber of Commerce said it was not aware of any opportunistic buying so far. Still the chamber’s senior director of international policy, Mark Agnew, said the pandemic has shown the country needs to protect key sectors.
Attracting foreign investment has been a big focus of the Liberal government since is was first elected in 2015. To push its agenda Ottawa established Invest Canada in 2018. Saturday’s policy marks a departure from the federal government’s previous stance.
globepolitics I don't believe stupid Canadians can do that.