NAFTA's Chapter 11 Makes Canada Most-Sued Country Under Free Trade Tribunals
Source: Huffington Post
"Canada is the most-sued country under the North American Free Trade Agreement and a majority of the disputes involve investors challenging the countrys environmental laws, according to a new study.
The study from the left-leaning Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) found that more than 70 per cent of claims since 2005 have been brought against Canada, and the number of challenges under a controversial settlement clause is rising sharply.
The investor-state dispute settlement mechanism contained in NAFTAs chapter 11 grants investors the right to sue foreign governments without first pursuing legal action in the countrys court systems, in order to protect foreign investors from discrimination. Drafters of the 1994 treaty included the provision to protect U.S. and Canadian investors against corruption in Mexican courts.
Critics argue that the mechanism limits governments from enacting policies on legitimate public concerns such as the environment and labour or human rights, and that negotiations are often carried out in secret."
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/01/14/canada-sued-investor-state-dispute-ccpa_n_6471460.html
Beware all trade agreements!!
FairWinds
(1,717 posts)and the so-called "Free Trade" protections for labor
rights are also no more than a sick joke.
Ask the Guatemalans.
Agnosticsherbet
(11,619 posts)A good resource on all cases pending and o therwise.
grahamhgreen
(15,741 posts)What a load of horsheit
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)in all "free" trade agreements
Recursion
(56,582 posts)Helen Borg
(3,963 posts)Recursion
(56,582 posts)pampango
(24,692 posts)issue is not their existence but the way they are structured and the nature of the rules they are meant to enforce. ISDS is fine if it has fair rules to enforce and a fair process of decision-making.
LiberalLovinLug
(14,174 posts)It reduces reasons why nations go to war with each other.
All they had/have to do is include labour and environmental standards, or simply give those areas an exemption for suing. Invite leaders and experts in those areas to participate and keep the whole negotiation exercise in the public eye. I really really really wish Obama had put his foot down on those issues being better represented before he jumped in with both feet.