Editor's Note: A Cochrane-area junior explorer is one of the country's being ordered to cut ties with a Hong Kong financier. Read more here.
TORONTO — The move by the federal government to force Chinese companies to sell their investments in three junior mining companies is being called a meaningful and necessary escalation of Canada's defensive posturing on strategic assets.
Aaron Shull, managing director at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, says the actions show the government is now on their front foot as it recognizes the need to use all channels to push back against hostile states.
He says the latest action, announced in a statement Wednesday by Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne, is part of a broader push to better align all sorts of strategic areas, whether economic, technological, or raw resources, with friendly states in a more adversarial world.
The decision to force Chinese divestment of critical mineral companies Ultra Lithium Inc., Lithium Chile Inc. and Power Metals Corp., comes in contrast to the government allowing a Chinese firm to take over Neo Lithium Corp. in January.
Lawrence Herman, international trade council at Herman & Associates, says the decision is an important first step that shows the federal government is waking up to the threat posed by China, but that more needs to be done.
He says the government needs to be more rigorous on a whole range of critical sectors, especially in areas of technology, and that in the future it should consider export controls and other tools to further boost Canada's security.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2022.
The Canadian Press
