Alcan chief executive Dick Evans
told
The Globe and Mail that a federal budget proposal to scrap a tax deduction
for foreign investments could put the aluminum producer in play. Alcan has
significant investment abroad partially because of its
acquisition
of Pechiney, but also because Canada lacks bauxite, the ore from which
aluminum is smelted. Even before the possible tax change, international mining
companies reportedly were interested in the company. The Globe and Mail
specifically lists Rio Tinto and Companhia Vale do Rio Doce as possible
suitors. Of course, maybe Evans is sowing fear in order to avoid the tax, as
Globe and Mail readers suggest on the paper's bulletin boards. —Matthew
Wurtzel
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