More than three out of four Canadians believe that foreign governments should not be able to control resources on Canadian soil, and most Canadians want the Harper government to block the purchase of the Calgary-based Nexen oil and gas firm by a Chinese state-owned corporation.
Opposition to the deal is especially fierce in British Columbia and Alberta, and carries across party lines nationally, with 57 per cent of Conservatives polled saying they want the Nexen deal stopped.
Those are the findings of an Angus Reid poll released on Oct. 16, five days after the federal industry minister extended the time he’ll take to mull approving the Nexen deal, and just two weeks before the Harper government aims to ratify, without requirement of Parliamentary debate, the Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) that critics say gives Chinese state-owned corporations powers to override Canadian labour law, environmental regulations and democratic standards.
From the Angus Reid press release:
In the online survey of a representative sample of 1,000 Canadians, one-in-four respondents (26 per cent) say they have followed news stories related to the proposed purchase "very closely" or "moderately closely."People in Alberta (41 per cent) and British Columbia (35 per cent) are paying more attention to this issue than those in Eastern Canada.
Under the Investment Canada Act, federal Industry Minister Christian Paradis is expected to pass judgment on the proposed takeover of Nexen by CNOOC on the basis of whether it provides a net benefit to Canada. A majority of Canadians (58 per cent) believe the federal government should block the takeover, while only 12 per cent think it should be allowed.
British Columbians oppose the Nexen takeover by a 7-to-1 margin (69 per cent to 7 per cent). While one-in-five Albertans would prefer to allow the takeover (22 per cent), three-in-five (63 per cent) are against it.
Opposition to the proposed takeover is high across party lines, encompassing 65 per cent of Canadians who voted for the New Democratic Party (NDP) in the 2011 federal election, 59 per cent of Liberal Party voters and 57 per cent of Conservative Party voters.
Practically half of Canadians (48 per cent) believe that, as a state-owned enterprise, CNOOC would have a competitive advantage over public companies.
A sizeable majority of respondents (78 per cent) think that foreign governments should not be able to control resources on Canadian soil.
David Beers is editor of The Tyee.
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bcguy
31 weeks ago
Selling our resouces out of
Selling our resouces out of the country is one thing, but having offshore compoanies over here making the profit, hiring out of country folks doesn't sit well with a lot of us. We own the product, we should be digging , cutting or whatever is done to ready it for transporting it not some company from another place
Hakuin
31 weeks ago
figure it out people
http://one-just-world.blogspot.ca/2008/08/rape-of-tibet.html
Inotice
30 weeks ago
Lets keep Canada.............
If being, concerned with the plight of your fellow Canadians, concerned about the state of the environment, concerned that we as Canadians are losing our personal freedoms when it comes to every aspect of our lives, concerned that our ability to receive a fair/livable wage so that we can support our families is being eroded, concerned that our government will not interact with us in any way whatsoever, concerned that Leader despises the majority of Canadians and concerned that Leader is imposing his religious beliefs on us all....
Colour me Guilty.
Fiat lux
30 weeks ago
Canada never needed any
Canada never needed any foreign investment, because when you have resources/assets, you have cash to develop them for your own benefit.
Loans and borrowing can be repaid, but foreign investment is a permanent liability that should be accounted as part of the national debt, the sale of the country and an inflation of the money supply, raising costs and prices.
This and the deregulated money creation by the banks are the cause of the over 1,000% inflation of our living costs in the past 40 years.
Ed Deak.
Hugh
30 weeks ago
This is what we keep
This is what we keep hearing:
"Canada needs foreign investment in order to develop its resources".
What a total crock of shite.
What, are we not able to develop our own resources? Are we that lame?
Hugh
30 weeks ago
We don't need to hinder our
We don't need to hinder our own sovereignty with agreement such as FIPA in order to attract foreign investors.
http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2012/10/11/Chairman-Harper/
judisomm
30 weeks ago
china trade
It is heartening to hear that 57% of conservatives are concerned about the pending Nexan deal. If these voters have contacted their Conservative MP's. perhaps this is a signal Harper has overreached his mandate.The bullying and strident tone of Flaherty who slammed down the weighty new budget, sneering that the opposition should have done their homework over about the navigable rivers issue was offensive and disingenuous. Journalists were hard- pressed to find any reference to it in the march version. When it was pointed out to them by the department, the one paragraph was unintelligible and did not mention rivers or navigation. When asked to have this debated seperately, he angrily said take it to the ballot box. Be careful of what you wish for, minister.
Talon
30 weeks ago
Thank you all....
for reminding me that when I log into The Tyee, I am in good company, if not the smartest, wisest, most able company in this vast country. We do not need to invite foreign investors here to plunder at our own expense. I heard this morning on the CBC that Ottawa has put the Petronas deal on hold. That was good news..... more please!
frances
30 weeks ago
Mr. Wenran Jian is a special
Mr. Wenran Jian is a special advisor to the Alberta Dept of Energy on Asian market diversification and actively promotes expansion of energy exports to China.
There is an elephant in the room that people refuse to talk about for fear of the racist label. All the Chinese landed immigrants, illegal immigrants, "entrepreneurs", and citizens-of-convenience, where do their loyalties lie? If in future, tensions were to increase between China and the west, how could we distinguish between those loyal to Canada and those loyal to their mother country?
Sask Resident
30 weeks ago
Greater Threat from Malaysia
The provinces own their natural resources under the Canadian constitution with federal oversight. Nexen and Progress buy the right to invest in the exploration for resources and to make income from the resources they find and produce. The province, as owner, charges a royalty on the production of their resources.
When talking about Progress and Nexen buyouts, I would suggest that the buyout by the government, read Malay, owned Petronas is a greater threat. Malaysia practices poor human rights and legally allows racism, such as non-ethnic Malays, like Indians (south Asians), Chinese and Orang putehs, have less access to education, employment and business than ethnic Malays. Also, Muslims have rights over non-Muslims and an ethnic Malay is deemed a Muslim and by law cannot convert. Plus Petronas has indicated that Canadian offices will be closed and Canadians replaced.
Cool Hand
30 weeks ago
Nexen
Nexen's only Canadian assets are:
1. The Long Lake oil sands project, which has been technically troubled from day one. Major capital cost over-runs and doubtful that it will ever break-even. Nexen's original 35% partner in that project, Opti Canada, went bankrupt as a result.
2. Shale gas lands in BC, which require continued fraccing in order for production to commence and continue.
I bring that up because federal NDP leader Mulcair wants the oil sands curtailed or stopped altogether due to environment concerns and "Dutch Deisease.
Federal NDP leader Muclair has also called natural gas fraccing "a con job" using "dangerous substances".
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/petroleum-lobby-pulling-a-con-job-on-fracking-mulcair-warns/article4246670/
So if the NDP gets into power federally in 2015, Nexen's assets are "worthless". No more fracking for natural gas and no more oil sands development. What resource I say?
Let the Chinese buy Nexen. They are just buying an expensive pig-in-a-poke. And let Nexen shareholder Canada Pension Plan, for example, earn a good return on their current shareholdings before it's too late.
If the NDP come to power federally, Nexen's Canadian assets will be worthless in any event.
Cool Hand
30 weeks ago
Sask Resident
Au contraire. Progress Energy is just a junior cap firm with extensive unconventional natural gas landholdings in NE BC's Montney basin. They don't have acces to the HUGE capital requirements required for lng/field development.
OTOH, Petronas has very, very deep pockets and is also well-connected and an lng leader in the Pacific Rim. Very important attributes in the lng trade.
Petronas has already optioned the Lelu Island site in Prince Rupert for a $6 billion+ lng terminal. That development would take at least 3 years requiring thousands of construction workers.
A natural gas pipeline to NE BC would alsot cost $billions and take several years to complete also requiring thousands of construction workers.
And the NE Montney basin fields will require expenditures of at least $1 billion/annum for field development.
We are talking $10's billion in capital investment here.
And potentially $100's millions in extra annual revenue into BC provincial coffers.
Based upon several news reports and analysis, the deal is still "alive" and I suspect at the end of the day (one or two months down the road), Petronas will get final approval.
BTW, when Petronas bid on Progress Energy, 2 other un-named, mulit-national energy firms also tendered unsolicited bids for Progress Energy and Petronas increased their offer from $20.45/share to $22/share to keep them in the game.
Those other un-named majors were reportedly ExxonMobil, Shell, and BG (British Gas), which also have multi-$billion lng terminals planned for Kitimat and Prince Rupert. These energy concerns require further prized lands such as those owned by Progress Energy as additional future feedstock for their west coast lng terminals.
Incorrect on that count:
http://www.progressenergy.com/petronas-to-acquire-progress-energy
cyberclark
30 weeks ago
Whats the use of complaining?
Husky Resources is Chinese and one of the most responsible petroleum companies in Canada! Good corporate citizens.
India and China have large options to buy resources in BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan. On the oil side the deals are held up pending a pipeline to ship the product to the west coast.
85% of the world's oil produced is state owned and state produced. Only the remaining 15% is owned by companies like those active in Canada. It boggles my mind how Canadians can stand by and let this crew rip off the resources.
Australia has one of the largest rare earth mines in the world. They allowed China to buy it. Australia then increased royalty on the mine.
China responded by cutting production of its own rare earth driving up the prices. Tit for Tat!
With a conservative majority across Canada I suggest a case can be made to keep foreigners out and further to nationalize much of our resource.
Fiat lux
30 weeks ago
Unlike our "conservative
Unlike our "conservative capitalists" the Chinese communists, are not fools, regardless what they call themselves now, with 7,000 years of exploitation experience behind them.
They know it very well that a worldwide crash and depression is inevitable and are using the stupidity of the West to buy control of much of the world's resources, so when the crash comes they can be in control.
Which was the original intention of bank and money creation deregulation that now backfired and gives the Chinese, sitting on all that imaginary capital, the opportunity for world control.
Ed Deak.
crh
30 weeks ago
in charge
Those with no moral compass are now in charge of Canada. It is clear with the poll results that the voters do not want this. It is clarifying when you can see what is happening without dollar signs floating in front of your eyes, like the Harper gang.
RR000111
30 weeks ago
NO!
Do I have to get into politics to preserve Canada's future? Do not sell our digital (Huawei) and natural (Nexen) resources to controlling outside governments! China is smart. Long term gains (China) for short term rewards (Canada). We are selling our children's future if we do this! I am speaking for Canadians of the future and not myself.
moern
30 weeks ago
They are all "Globalists"
Harper has been signing these kinds of deals for quite a while. The latest was Canada/Jordan. What could not be accomplished by the Multilateral Agreement on Investment in one fell swoop is being done piecemeal.
Fiat lux
30 weeks ago
It was the outrage by the
It was the outrage by the Canadian public that first postponed the signing by one year, then killed the MAI 15 years ago.
But where is the widespread public outrage now, apart from isolated incidents and blogs like this one?
People have been mentally conditioned to accept anything thrown at them. In only 15 short years. Even the 39% who elected Harper to become a dictator for 4 years.
All people are concerned about now are ipads and the rest of the junk used as a form of addiction to wipe out their brains
Ed Deak.