The Harper government is expected to make a trio of decisions -- the first of which could come as early as this week -- on some business deals that could have broad implications for the overall health of Canada's economy now and for years to come.
These decisions, among the most important the Harper government has ever had to make, are centred around the issue of control of Canadian companies by foreign governments and each decision is fraught with political and economic peril.
At stake is literally hundreds of billions of dollars of foreign investment that the government, by its own admission, says are needed to develop Canada's natural resources, to create thousands of new jobs here, and to ensure Canada's economic prosperity. There simply is not enough money in Canada to pay for all the roads, mines, dams, pipelines and other energy infrastructure Canada needs to unlock its resource wealth. Most of that money, the government itself says, will have to come from overseas investors.
