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ARTICLE · 30 DECEMBER 2016

Government Resets Approach To National Security Reviews

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Yesterday the federal government released guidelines on the national security review of foreign investments in Canada.

CanadaGovernment, Public Sector
Omar Wakil
Omar Wakil
Dany Assaf
Dany Assaf
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Yesterday the federal government released guidelines on the national security review of foreign investments in Canada.

Under the Investment Canada Act, the government can review virtually any foreign investment to determine whether it could be injurious to Canada's national security.

There have been eight formal reviews since national security powers were introduced in 2009:

  • In two cases, conditions were imposed on investors to mitigate national security risk.
  • In three cases, proposed investments were blocked by cabinet order.
  • In two cases, investors were required to divest themselves of acquired businesses. In one of these two cases, the government recently consented to redo its review following an application for judicial review of the decision.

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