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Lone Pine Resources Files Outrageous NAFTA Lawsuit Against Fracking Ban
No Fracking Way: How Companies Sue Canada to Get More ResourcesThis week, an electronic copy of a quietly filed lawsuit was unearthed, exposing the fact that oil and gas company Lone Pine Resources is moving forward with a $250-million North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) lawsuit against Canada. Why is Lone Pine suing Canada? For the "arbitrary, capricious, and illegal revocation of the Enterprise's valuable right to mine for oil and gas under [Quebec's] Saint Lawrence River." Lone Pine is suing Canada over Quebec's timeout on fracking.
It sounds impossible to believe, but it's true. NAFTA's chapter on investment gives foreign corporations the right to sue a government over laws and policies that corporations allege reduce their profits or, in Lone Pine's words, reduce the "expectation of a stable business and legal environment." When a new policy or regulation is put in place that a corporation doesn't like, it can bring the government to a private trade tribunal where the case will get heard by three private sector attorneys, behind closed doors, for taxpayer compensation.
Lone Pine is suing the government of Canada for $250-million, claiming that the moratorium on fracking, put in place by Quebec's provincial government, was a violation of its "right to mine." As if a quarter of a billion dollars wasn't enough, Lone Pine is also asking to be paid for the full costs associated with any arbitration proceedings, including all professional and legal fees and disbursements; interest at a rate to be fixed by the tribunal; and -- why not? -- "further relief as an arbitral tribunal may deem just and appropriate." This is all so that Lone Pine can be compensated for a policy put in place to protect communities and the environment.
It sounds impossible to believe, but it's true. NAFTA's chapter on investment gives foreign corporations the right to sue a government over laws and policies that corporations allege reduce their profits or, in Lone Pine's words, reduce the "expectation of a stable business and legal environment." When a new policy or regulation is put in place that a corporation doesn't like, it can bring the government to a private trade tribunal where the case will get heard by three private sector attorneys, behind closed doors, for taxpayer compensation.
Lone Pine is suing the government of Canada for $250-million, claiming that the moratorium on fracking, put in place by Quebec's provincial government, was a violation of its "right to mine." As if a quarter of a billion dollars wasn't enough, Lone Pine is also asking to be paid for the full costs associated with any arbitration proceedings, including all professional and legal fees and disbursements; interest at a rate to be fixed by the tribunal; and -- why not? -- "further relief as an arbitral tribunal may deem just and appropriate." This is all so that Lone Pine can be compensated for a policy put in place to protect communities and the environment.
more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/ilana-solomon/lone-pine-sues-canada-over-fracking_b_4032696.html
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