After regular stonewalling by the federal government about agreements made with Vale Inco and Xstrata for takeovers in the Sudbury Basin, Claude Gravelle, NDP Nickel Belt MP, has tabled legislation to make such documents public.
The legislation would amend the Investment Canada Act to allow for full disclosure of the commitments foreign companies make to the government during domestic takeovers.
Gravelle has also tabled similar legislation specifically relating to Vale Inco and Xstrata, whose agreement he previously attempted to obtain through Access to Information requests. These were met with refusals through section 36 of the Investment Canada Act, which prohibits the disclosure of undertakings made during foreign takeovers.
The move has been openly supported by leadership of the United Steelworkers, whose members are part of an ongoing strike at Vale Inco, including Sudbury's Local 6500.
“In my riding we have two companies that were taken over in 2006, both signed undertakings with the Government of Canada not to lay off staff, yet both have laid off hundreds of workers without consequence,” said Gravelle in a release. "The public has a right to know why these companies aren't being held to account."
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