Politics is sometimes a matter of degree.

Today, Jack Layton put that thesis to the test.

The NDP leader wrote his Ph.D dissertation at York University on Canada's foreign investment review policies.

That meant pouring over thousands of government decisions on foreign takeovers of Canadian companies, none of which were rejected.

His conclusion: Canada failed, again and again and again, to ensure Canadian jobs were adequately protected.

So Layton was absolutely delighted today to be able to apply his academic expertise to the proposed sale of Vancouver-based MDA and its prized Radarsat II satellite.

The NDP leader rose in the Commons to commend the Conservatives for being the first government to use its legislative power to demand proof that the sale of MDA will provide a net benefit to Canada as required under federal law.

And to demand something he first wrote years ago in his thesis: that the law be amended to ensure critical jobs are protected when foreign companies snap up viable Canadian businesses.

For Layton, it's an argument that's no longer academic.