Ottawa

Stephen Harper seems to have read that Justin Trudeau op-ed

The Prime Minister does not often bother with any questions beyond the initial opposition leaders’ rounds. Today though, after Bob Rae had finished his three questions, Mr. Harper stood to respond to a query from the NDP’s Peter Julian. But he did so not just to respond to the official opposition (emphasis mine).

Peter Julian: Mr. Speaker, today Canadians found out through anonymous leaks that CNOOC has agreed to meet the federal government’s request. What request? This is the first time Canadians have heard of any request coming from the federal government on CNOOC. The government refuses to be transparent, refuses to be accountable, refuses to have respect for Canadians, so what is the government respecting of CNOOC and why is it doing it in secret? Why is it doing it behind closed doors?

Stephen Harper: Mr. Speaker, let me just address that very briefly. The Minister of Industry has been very clear. The government’s policy on these matters, while we welcome foreign investment, is to scrutinize every individual foreign investment to make sure they are in the bests interests of this country. On the one hand, the position of the NDP, as we know, is to be against all of these investments. The position of the Liberal Party, as reiterated yesterday, is to rubber-stamp every single one of them. We think Canadians expect us to examine these investments carefully and make sure they are in the best interests of Canada.

See previously: ‘It is in Canada’s interest’

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