Dear Editor,

Stephen Harper has done it again with his treasonous approval of the Chinese government-controlled CNOOC’s takeover bid for the Canadian tar sands giant Nexen.  His deal gives the Chinese between three and six billion barrels of tar sands oil. Harper’s approval came with no public input and was announced late on a Friday afternoon — a clear attempt to sneak it under the public’s radar. The deal is bad for several reasons — the most important being his gift of a Canadian resource to a foreign government.

Even worse is the fact that Harper could at any time approve the Canada-China Foreign Investment Protection Act (FIPA).  If he approves this act, CNOOC (and any other Chinese corporation invested in Canada) will be able to sue Canadian governments (federal and provincial) in secret tribunals if our governments do anything which CNOOC perceives as a threat to its corporate profits. This would include any environmental protections and job creation efforts.

Harper’s latest action is just one more example of his failure to protect the interests of Canada.  Canadians must wake up to his treachery and tell him that Canada is not for sale. The hypocrite Harper, who in the past railed against the communist Chinese government, must protect Canadian democracy and our natural resources. He must be told not to ratify FIPA.

Norm Funnell

Radium