OTTAWA - Liberal Leader Stephane Dion wants the federal government to put a halt to foreign takeovers of Canadian businesses until a blue-ribbon panel has a chance to review the practice.
Dion says it's the federal government's responsibility to ensure Canada's approach to foreign ownership is keeping up with the practices of global competitors.
He wants Prime Minister Stephen Harper to appoint a panel of experts to review issues surrounding foreign takeovers and make recommendations on changes to the Investment Canada Act within three months.
The Opposition leader says decisions on major foreign acquisitions and any changes to foreign ownership rules should be suspended until after the process has been completed.
He says the Commons finance and industry committees should also hold hearings on foreign takeovers during the summer break.
There has been a spate of foreign takeovers during the last 18 months in which Canadian icons such as Inco, Dofasco and Falconbridge have been acquired by companies from Brazil, Europe and the United States.
