Many of you will remember that I predicted the Potash deal would happen. I'm curious about your takes on the current situation. In a way, there's an uneven playing field. Other non-western nations have massive sovereign wealth funds that can invest on behalf of their nation without fear of takeover. It seems like nothing much in Canadian industry is sacred or Canadian. We've lost Falconbridge, Inco, and Alcan, despite massive subsidies and concessions given to them (particularly Alcan) over the years. International corporations are in our oil fields to an increasing degree, and in our uranium fields to an increasing degree. The irony is that the amount of required Canadian share ownership in the oilfileds was just reduced, which is why Royal Dutch Shell took out Shell Canada. The Canadian Government encouraged foreign takeovers until now. To what extent should companies with control of strategic Canadian resources be controled by the government? And for you American readers out there, to what extent should the U.S. control their strategic assets, because you essentially have the same question to ask yourselves. Especially if we are moving into a world of resource scarcity.

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(Reuters)

By David Ljunggren

YOKOHAMA, Japan (Reuters) - Canada, which stunned markets by blocking a bid from Anglo-Australian firm BHP Billiton for Potash Corp, will soon reveal what kind of foreign investment it finds acceptable, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Sunday.

The government blocked the hostile $39 billion takeover on November 3 on the grounds it was not of net benefit to Canada.

Harper had been under huge pressure from political allies, who said potash -- which is used to make fertilizer -- was a strategic resource and should remain in Canadian hands.

The move prompted concerns Ottawa was reneging on promises to fight protectionism and might effectively be creating a list of strategic firms -- such as BlackBerry maker Research in Motion -- that could not be taken over by foreigners.

The Investment Canada Act -- which regulates foreign takeovers -- stipulated that BHP had 30 days from Nov 3 to submit a modified bid but few political observers believe the Harper administration will change its mind.

"When the (30-day) period expires the government will be in a position not only to give reasons for the decision but to give broader guidance to the investment community on the kind of foreign investment it is and is not seeking within Canada," he told reporters after a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders.

Harper, who gave no details, had already expressed a willingness to review the Investment Canada Act, which critics complain is too vague and not transparent enough.

Harper said Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard had raised the Potash issue on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Seoul on Thursday, but gave no details. No other leaders had mentioned it, he added.

"It would be an interesting question to ask whether any other country would approve a similar transaction ... even with this decision, Canada has one of the most open investment regimes in the world," he said.

In the wake of the decision, Canada's farm minister said letting BHP Billiton buy Potash would have offered Australia's farm sector too much of an advantage. His office later said the comments had been speculative.

Since the Investment Canada Act came into force in 1985, more than 1,600 foreign takeovers have been approved. Only two were blocked, both by the Harper government.

In 2008, citing national security, it prevented Macdonald Dettwiler and Associates from selling a satellite unit to a U.S. firm.

(Editing by Ed Davies)