INDU Committee Report

NDP Supplemental Recommendation

The Investment Canada Act needs modernization to adjust to the globalized marketplace of the twenty-first century. This involves direct investments, mergers and acquisitions from countries and state-owned enterprises that were not active when the ICA was initially drafted. Along with dubious tactics and strategies that are deployed to circumvent the present reviews and regulations of the ICA and undermine commitments, issues such as consumer privacy and data collection need to be addressed and ameliorated.

Protecting Canadians’ privacy and digital rights in the ICA

Case Example

Chinese company Bluesky, a suspected Anbang linked company, took over InnVest, Canada’s largest hotel operator. It is alleged that Bluesky is just a front for Anbang since that company initially wanted to acquire InnVest and the executive in charge of Bluesky is a former employee of Anbang. Investment Canada reviewed the takeover and approved it. Anbang was seized by the Chinese government which holds a 98 percent ownership stake.

This development raised significant concerns regrading privacy issues and the Chinese government’s long history of spying on its citizens and others who are dissidents or critical of their policies. It is widely known, as reported in the media, that Chinese government intelligence services have on going operations in Canada and other countries to spy on, intimidate, and harass individuals. In other countries Chinese intelligence services have abducted people and taken them to China.

China’s Ministry of State Security was reportedly behind the massive cyberattack against the Marriott hotel chain compromising the personal information of 500 million guests which has heightened the concerns of the employees and guests of InnVest hotels. Its security apparatus has been documented as being involved in cyberintrusions in other countries.

Accordingly, the following recommendation is necessary to protect the privacy and digital rights of Canadians in the law to prevent future abuse:

Recommendation

That the government of Canada immediately introduce legislation amending the Investment Canada Act to allow for the establishment of a privacy protection review of and the ability to enforce Canadians’ privacy and digital rights in any ICA approved acquisition, merger, or investment.