Canada to apply existing laws to PetroChina bid

CALGARY - Canada will apply existing foreign ownership laws to PetroChina’s bid to buy Canadian oilsands assets but will not introduce further barriers to investing in the country, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Tuesday.

PetroChina, the world’s most valuable oil company, is set to pay $1.9 billion for a 60 per cent stake in two planned Canadian oilsands projects.

It’s the biggest Chinese investment yet in Canada’s oilsands, which have reserves second only to Saudi Arabia, and a test of the Canadian government’s bid to thaw once-frosty relations with Beijing.

Harper said he recognized that PetroChina’s plans were controversial, but committed to using existing Canadian laws to review the transaction and not introducing new legislation to block the deal.

“The government will apply the law that’s in place,” Harper said. “We’ve been very clear that in the middle of a global recession we will not be introducing further barriers to foreign investment.”

Current regulations call for an automatic review of any foreign purchase of Canadian assets worth more than $312 million.

However, the laws also allow the government to block any investment that would adversely affect national security. Harper’s Conservative government has already blocked one deal, last year nixing the planned sale of a Canadian satellite company to a U.S. rocket maker.

PetroChina has signed an initial agreement to take majority control of the proposed MacKay River and Dover projects owned by Canada’s closely held Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. The properties could eventually produce as much as 500,000 barrels per day.

Harper’s government is moving to improve once-frosty relations with China to boost trade. Last month Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney went to meet with Chinese government officials and business leaders in advance of a visit by Harper planned for later this year.

Cringing Negativism Network wrote: "Canada is becoming the enemy."

Just who is becoming whose enemy.

A dog sniffs its own arse first.

The NAFTA treaty, initiated by Canada, guarantees US customers equal standing to Canadians as to access to Canadian oil and gas.

That is the treaty that Obama wants to abrogate.

Ever since Obama has taken power the activities of the United States congress and of Obama's core supporters have made it crystal clear that the US doesn't want our dirty oil and would like us to stop producing it.

In addition to left wing harassment in the guise of environmentalism, the US congress has not let an opportunity to go by to add protectionism measures to every piece of legislation that it can, despite treaty obligations to the contrary.

Between the US congress and the US administration, they are knife edge close to abrogating NAFTA with its guarantees of a major supply of oil to the US and of the gas supply needed to keep California's electricity generators running.

When a supplier offers a product and reserves preferential access to its best customer and that customer starts to turn its nose up at the product, the supplier is entitled to look for other customers without being characterized as an "enemy".

BTW The US is Canada's best customer but Canada is also the US's best customer.

BTW if we are an "enemy" perhaps we ought to pull our troops out of Afghanistan forthwith in recognition of the new state of belligerancy between the former allies now operating in Kandahar.

Canada is becoming the enemy.

That is an ignorant statement.

US Companies are involved in the oil-sands project in Alberta, and these same companies want to be more involved, but they fear any investment that will be corroded by the Carbon Tax proposed by the Obama Administration and Congress.

While Canada's government is socialized due to the unbalaced power given to the large cities, much of the citizenry is far more independent and conservative.

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