Change toxic, outdated NAFTA rules
As Trudeau prepares to engage in NAFTA negotiations with the U.S., Canada is being sued by a fracking company under the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) from Chapter 11 of the current agreement.
Lone Pine Resources is suing the Canadian government for over $100 million relating to a temporary fracking ban under the St. Lawrence River. ISDS rules give corporations special rights to sue governments — and Canada is already the most sued country in the global north.
These rules let corporations undermine decisions made by the Canadian democracy in pursuit of profit, and have gone largely unreported in the media at a time when our leaders need to know where our values lie.
Do we choose inviting corporations to come in and take from both protected land and government coffers, or changing the toxic and outdated NAFTA rules that allow this to take up space in our economic and legal systems?
Thom Brenton
Duncan