The federal government has announced it is rejecting BHP Billiton's $38.6 billion US bid for Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., saying it is unlikely to represent a net benefit to Canada --- but it gave the company 30 days to revise its offer.
Industry Minister Tony Clement said Wednesday he will make his final decision about the bid following the 30-day period.
As far as NDP leader Jack Layton is concerned, the decision is a good move. He says the announcement is a victory for the people of Saskatchewan. Layton also called it a step forward in a wider New Democrat campaign to protect Canadian jobs and strategic resources from multinational predators and make foreign takeover reviews more transparent.
"If BHP's bid is finally rejected, this will mean Saskatchewan can benefit more tomorrow from the development, mining, processing and sale of this resource. It's a win for the people of this province - and a step toward ensuring foreign investment enriches our communities instead of hollowing them out," says Layton.
From the start, says Layton, the New Democrats fought to give a voice to the public's opposition to BHP's takeover bid.
As public pressure mounted, Premier Wall and finally, Prime Minister Stephen Harper began to echo the New Democrats' message said Layton in a release issued Wednesday. After rubber-stamping more than 13,500 takeovers, this is only the second time Ottawa has rejected a bid under the "net benefit" test of the Investment Canada Act.
On Thursday, Parliament was to debate a New Democrat motion to make foreign investment reviews more transparent and accountable.
"We didn't hear a peep from Saskatchewan's 13 Conservative MPs on Potash, and it took a full-court press to get Stephen Harper to do the right thing. So it's naive to think his government suddenly has communities' best interests at heart," says Layton. "But if he does want to change some minds here, he should support our motion to open up all of these secretive takeover reviews to the public eye."
If passed, Layton says his motion would protect all Canadians whose interests, jobs and communities are routinely ignored in Ottawa's backroom calculation of "net benefit" under the Investment Canada Act.
In a short statement following Wednesday's announcement BHP Billiton said it is disappointed in Clement's decision, but remains confident its offer is of net benefit to Saskatchewan and Canada.
"BHP Billiton will continue to cooperate with the Minister and the Investment Review Division of Industry Canada and will review its options," the statement read.
