What impact do changing global dynamics and Canada’s tougher scrutiny of foreign investments have on the bilateral relationship? On January 11, 2023, CCBC hosted a presentation and discussion with Sandy Walker, Partner, Dentons, one of Canada’s leading competition and Investment Canada Act lawyers. Participants who joined this virtual session heard an analysis of recently-announced changes to the Investment Canada Act and government orders for three Chinese companies to divest their investments in Canadian critical minerals companies. This event was relevant for Chinese businesses in Canada and for Canadian businesses with investments in China, to learn how recent developments may affect them.

Tickets were free for CCBC members; $50 + tax for non-members.

The link to the video presentation is available upon request. Please contact your regional Chapter Director to request access:

• Atlantic: Edward Dai
• Quebec: David Perez-Des Rosiers
• Ontario: Jeff Zhang
• Prairies/Nunavut/NWT: Lotta Ygartua
• BC/Yukon: Lotta Ygartua
• Beijing: Noah Fraser
• Shanghai: Edward Dai

About the speakers:

Sandy Walker
Partner
Dentons

Sandy Walker is co-Chair of Dentons’ Competition and Foreign Investment Review group and former lead of Dentons’ Canadian Regulatory Practice Group. She is recognized as one of the country’s leading competition and Investment Canada Act lawyers. Sandy’s practice focuses on securing government approvals for mergers and acquisitions from the Competition Bureau, Investment Canada and other regulatory agencies, including navigating complex “net benefit to Canada” reviews and the national security review process on behalf of foreign investors, both state-owned and private sector. Sandy also provides strategic advice to clients on compliance issues arising from pricing, distribution and trade practices. She represents clients in an array of industries, including financial services, technology, mining, oil and gas, power, automotive, media and entertainment, food and beverage, manufacturing, transportation and retail.

Sandy is a member of the executive of the national Competition Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association, the former Chair of the Mergers Committee and the former Chair of the Foreign Investment Review Committee. She has been a Vice-Chair of the International Antitrust Committee of the American Bar Association’s International Law Section, and is a regular speaker on foreign investment and competition law topics at ABA, CBA, China Institute, Canada China Business Council, and other conferences in North America, China and Europe.

Sandy is recognized as a leading lawyer by publications and rankings directories, including Chambers Canada, Who’s Who Legal – Canada, The Legal 500 Canada and Best Lawyers in Canada.

The Honourable James Moore
Senior Business Advisor
Dentons

The Honourable James Moore is a Senior Business Advisor in Dentons’ Government group, with a focus on government affairs and public policy. Based in Vancouver, Mr. Moore provides strategic advice to clients in British Columbia, across Canada and around the world. With his deep knowledge of Canada’s business community, and his public policy background, he is a valued member of the Dentons team. James was recently appointed as member of Prime Minister Trudeau’s NAFTA Council.

Previously, Mr. Moore served as Canada’s Minister of Industry, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, Secretary of State for the Asia Pacific Gateway and Minister for the 2010 Olympics. He served as the Senior Regional Minister for the province of British Columbia and was also Chair of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Prosperity and Vice Chair of the Operations and Social Affairs Cabinet Committees.

Mr. Moore has earned an outstanding reputation over his years spent in government, most notably as Minister of Industry from 2013 to 2015, where he oversaw a wide range of Canada’s public policy decisions and led a team responsible for the Canada Space Agency, the Canada Tourism Commission, the Business Development Bank of Canada, Statistics Canada, the National Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Radio-television & Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the Canada Foundation for Innovation and more.

A Member of Parliament for 15 years, Mr. Moore has been named “One of the 50 Most Important People in Canada” by Macleans magazine, “One of Vancouver’s 50 Most Powerful” by Vancouver Magazine, and “One of the Top 25 People in the Capital” by the HillTimes newspaper. He is a past member of the Trilateral Commission and was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Fluently bilingual in French and English, Mr. Moore holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Northern British Columbia and a Master’s Degree from the University of Saskatchewan in Political Science. In May 2016, Mr. Moore received the honour of becoming the sixth Chancellor of the University of Northern British Columbia.

Sarah Kutulakos
Executive Director & COO
Canada China Business Council (CCBC)

Sarah joined the CCBC in 2007 and has since revitalized CCBC’s role as Canada’s premier bilateral trade and investment organization. Sarah has re-centered the Council’s activities around providing business services, catalyzing business growth and activity, and advocating for stronger Sino-Canadian bilateral trade and investment. This has resulted in extensive public outreach activities, internal infrastructure improvements, the launch of new programs such as the Business Incubation Centre, and thriving member relations.

Prior to joining CCBC, Sarah worked for 11 years in marketing, product development, and management with a major multinational corporation, where she had multiple assignments involving China. Sarah managed worldwide product businesses that marketed to China and used China-based sources of supply. She was also involved in several projects requiring cooperation with the Chinese government. Sarah has led both established and start-up businesses within the context of a global corporation and has broad emerging market business experience, and has been involved in the Greater China region since the late 1980s when she lived and worked in Taiwan. There, she was the first non-Chinese employee of a local high-tech start-up firm, where she gained a deep understanding of Chinese business practices.

A fluent Mandarin speaker, Sarah’s interest in China began at the University of Wisconsin, where she studied Chinese, marketing, and international business. She holds an MBA in finance and operations from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester. She frequently speaks on China issues, including marketing, trade, investment, and Canada-China relations.