Marginal note:Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Investment Canada Act.

Marginal note:Purpose of Act

2. Recognizing that increased capital and technology benefits Canada, and recognizing the importance of protecting national security, the purposes of this Act are to provide for the review of significant investments in Canada by non-Canadians in a manner that encourages investment, economic growth and employment opportunities in Canada and to provide for the review of investments in Canada by non-Canadians that could be injurious to national security.

Marginal note:Definitions

3. In this Act,

“Agency”

“Agency”[Repealed, 1995, c. 1, s. 45]

“assets”

« actifs »

“assets” includes tangible and intangible property of any value;

“business”

« entreprise »

“business” includes any undertaking or enterprise capable of generating revenue and carried on in anticipation of profit;

“Canada”

« Canada »

“Canada” includes the exclusive economic zone of Canada and the continental shelf of Canada;

“Canadian”

« Canadien »

“Canadian” means

• (a) a Canadian citizen,

• (b) a permanent resident within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act who has been ordinarily resident in Canada for not more than one year after the time at which he or she first became eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship,

• (c) a Canadian government, whether federal, provincial or local, or an agency thereof, or

• (d) an entity that is Canadian-controlled, as determined under subsection 26(1) or (2) and in respect of which there has been no determination made under subsection 26(2.1) or (2.11) or declaration made under subsection 26(2.2);

“Canadian business”

« entreprise canadienne »

“Canadian business” means a business carried on in Canada that has

• (a) a place of business in Canada,

• (b) an individual or individuals in Canada who are employed or self-employed in connection with the business, and

• (c) assets in Canada used in carrying on the business;

“corporation”

« personne morale »

“corporation” means a body corporate with or without share capital;

“Director”

« directeur »

“Director” means the Director of Investments appointed under section 6;

“entity”

« unité »

“entity” means a corporation, partnership, trust or joint venture;

“joint venture”

« coentreprise »

“joint venture” means an association of two or more persons or entities, where the relationship among those associated persons or entities does not, under the laws in force in Canada, constitute a corporation, a partnership or a trust and where, in the case of an investment to which this Act applies, all the undivided ownership interests in the assets of the Canadian business or in the voting interests of the entity that is the subject of the investment are or will be owned by all the persons or entities that are so associated;

“Minister”

« ministre »

“Minister” means such member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada as is designated by the Governor in Council as the Minister for the purposes of this Act;

“new Canadian business”

« nouvelle entreprise canadienne »

“new Canadian business”, in relation to a non-Canadian, means a business that is not already being carried on in Canada by the non-Canadian and that, at the time of its establishment,

• (a) is unrelated to any other business being carried on in Canada by that non-Canadian, or

• (b) is related to another business being carried on in Canada by that non-Canadian but falls within a prescribed specific type of business activity that, in the opinion of the Governor in Council, is related to Canada’s cultural heritage or national identity;

“non-Canadian”

« non-Canadien »

“non-Canadian” means an individual, a government or an agency thereof or an entity that is not a Canadian;

“own”

« propriétaire »

“own” means beneficially own;

“person”

« personne »

“person” means an individual, a government or an agency thereof or a corporation;

“prescribed”

Version anglaise seulement

“prescribed” means prescribed by the regulations made pursuant to this Act;

“voting group”

« groupement de votants »

“voting group” means two or more persons who are associated with respect to the exercise of rights attached to voting interests in an entity by contract, business arrangement, personal relationship, common control in fact through the ownership of voting interests, or otherwise, in such a manner that they would ordinarily be expected to act together on a continuing basis with respect to the exercise of those rights;

“voting interest”

« intérêt avec droit de vote »

“voting interest”, with respect to

• (a) a corporation with share capital, means a voting share,

• (b) a corporation without share capital, means an ownership interest in the assets thereof that entitles the owner to rights similar to those enjoyed by the owner of a voting share, and

• (c) a partnership, trust or joint venture, means an ownership interest in the assets thereof that entitles the owner to receive a share of the profits and to share in the assets on dissolution;

“voting share”

« action avec droit de vote »

“voting share” means a share in the capital of a corporation to which is attached a voting right ordinarily exercisable at meetings of shareholders of the corporation and to which is ordinarily attached a right to receive a share of the profits, or to share in the assets of the corporation on dissolution, or both.