Harper Government effectively privatizes Canada's water - News & Events - Sack Goldblatt Mitchell LLP

Harper Government effectively privatizes Canada's water - News & Events - Sack Goldblatt Mitchell LLP

SGM's Steven Shrybman recently told the the Standing Committee on International Trade that the Harper Government appears to have entered into a NAFTA settlement that will allow foreign investors to assert propriety claims to Canadian water.

In December 2008, AbitibiBowater announced the permanent closure of its Grand Falls-Windsor pulp and paper mill in Newfoundland. The Province claimed that AbitibiBowater had reneged on agreements to continue operating the mill, and that it had been granted water and timber rights on that condition. The Province then passed legislation expropriating AbitibiBowater's assets and terminating the water and timber licenses.

Rather than seeking recourse in the Canadian courts, AbitibiBowater filed an arbitration claim under NAFTA investment rules seeking $500 million in compensation. The claim not only sought compensation for the physical assets taken by the Province, but also for the loss of its water and forest licenses, which it referred to as "Water and Waterpower Rights" and "Timber Rights".

Instead of standing up for the public ownership of water and timber resources and refuting AbitibiBowater's claims to proprietary “rights” in Canadian public goods, the Harper Government entered into a $130 million consent judgment to settle the NAFTA claim. The potential consequences for the protection and regulation of Canada’s public resources are dire: the settlement goes farther than any NAFTA judgement to date, recognizing AbitibiBowater's “rights” to Newfoundland’s water and timber. This sets a precedent in which the obligation of governments to treat water as a public trust essential to both human well-being and biodiversity rank second to commercial and private interests.

Sugar Tariffs,Canada & Central America

Canada - Central America Four (CA4)

The purpose of Canada's free trade agenda is to enhance its economic prosperity and help provide the foundation for sustainable economic and social development. Canada's regional and bilateral trade agreements are a means to ensure that its exporters and investors have competitive terms of access to international markets. A free trade agreement with the Central American Four countries (Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua – the CA4) would strengthen the commercial relationship between Canada and the CA4 countries. An agreement would not only help to preserve the competitive position of Canadian exporters and investors in the region, it would also create new opportunities for growth in these markets.