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The federal government on Wednesday unveiled what officials bill as the biggest update to Canada’s foreign direct investment laws in a decade, with new rules requiring approval for investments in “sensitive sectors” and broader efforts to share information on firms under review.
The pre-implementation requirement is one of several changes outlined in a bill seeking to modernize the Investment Canada Act in order to further protect Canada from malicious foreign actors.
However, the proposed amendments do not specify what sectors will require the new pre-implementation filing, which is meant to give the government a chance to ensure foreign investors do not gain access to “sensitive assets, information, intellectual property or trade secrets.”
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Failure to submit the filing will result in a fine of at least $500,000, according to the legislation.
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Other changes in the proposed bill include a more streamlined process to initiate a national security review of any foreign investment and additional powers to the industry minister during such a review.
The legislation would also increase penalties for any non-compliance with the act to $25,000 per day, per infraction, with no limit.
More to come…
