Red tape, expense highlight risks of investing in Canada, Mexico says

Despite proclamations of a “new era of cooperation” between Canada and Mexico, the southern-most North American nation says financial and bureaucratic bottlenecks paint a dismal picture for potential investors.

A report issued by Mexico’s embassy in Canada says Mexican firms seeking to expand to Canada were turned off by onerous bureaucracy.

“Mexican companies have approached the Embassy to inquire about establishing their business in Canada including in sectors as diverse as construction, finance services, food processing and real estate, et cetera,” read the report submitted earlier this month to the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.

“Nevertheless, many of them have expressed concern about excessive requirements, cost or red tape.”

The story was first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

Canada bureaucracy ‘dysfunctional’

Ottawa, the report read, was so dysfunctional that Mexican diplomats had a hard time even securing basic data.

“It is difficult to present a full picture of foreign direct investment originating in Mexico as there is no official registry in Canada, while in Mexico the National Registry of Foreign Investment provides publicly available lists of all foreign companies doing business in the country and all Mexican companies with foreign investment,” the report read.

“Also, many companies are registered with the provinces which have their own registries and requests to obtain this information have been denied based on privacy guidelines.”

During a two-day visit to Mexico City in September, Prime Minister Mark Carney signed an agreement with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum that includes plans to build ports, rail corridors and energy projects — calling it a “new era of elevated co-operation with a comprehensive strategic partnership” during a press conference.