Coalition Fights Exclusion From NAFTA Case

Immediate Release

OTTAWA, January 17, 2001 -- The Council of Canadians, the Sierra Club and Greenpeace are in court today to appeal a decision to exclude them from participating in a precedent-setting NAFTA dispute. The appeal highlights public concern that NAFTA tribunal's decisions can undo domestic laws and international treaties but exclude the public from the proceedings.

Ironically, the groups want inside to argue that the government is correct in honouring an international environmental agreement. If Canada loses the case it will be the first time a NAFTA ruling has penalized a country for keeping its treaty obligations.

"What's at stake here is who makes decisions in this country," said Steven Staples, Campaign Co-ordinator of the Council of Canadians. "Should a foreign corporation be able to sue Canada to get rid of regulations it doesn't like? Of course not. Should the public have access to trade proceedings that can reach down and change our laws? Of course they should. But so far the SD Myers case is taking the opposite course."

The groups are seeking involvement in the government's appeal of the first Chapter 11 case which has ruled against Canada. SD Myers, a US waste disposal company, successfully challenged the Canadian government's ban on export of toxic waste, a decision which could force the Canadian government to pay the company up to US$20 million in compensation. The Canadian ban was put in place to fulfil its commitment to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, signed in Basel Switzerland in 1989.

"The SD Myers decision strikes at the heart of the Basel Convention, a treaty that predates NAFTA," said Jo Dufay of Greenpeace Canada. "If this can happen to the Basel convention, it can happen to the Kyoto protocol too, or to any number of international environmental commitments. If the SD Meyers decision stands and trade agreements are able to trump these treaties, they will be rendered toothless."

"Canada could be fined millions for prohibiting exports of toxic waste to the US when, for most of the period in question, imports were not permitted under US law anyhow," said Angela Rickman, deputy director of the Sierra Club of Canada. "And now Canada faces the threat of a similar suit on the notorious and persistent pesticide Lindane. We must be given the opportunity to inject reason into the process and to expose the supremacy Chapter 11 grants corporate profit-making over government's ability to enact progressive legislation and meet international commitments."

The group's appeal will be heard today by the Federal Court of Appeal in Toronto (330 University Avenue, 5th floor) commencing at 2:30 pm EST. The court has scheduled two hours for the appeal. The groups will be represented by Steven Shrybman, an Ottawa lawyer with Sack Goldblatt Mitchell. Shrybman has extensive experience in the arena of trade law and the environment.

For more information: Steven Shrybman, Sack Goldblatt Mitchell (613) 862-4862; Jennifer Story, Council of Canadians (613) 233-4487, ext. 234, Angela Rickman, Sierra Club (613) 241-4611; Jamey Heath, Greenpeace (416) 597-8408, ext. 3030

Jennifer Story

Media Officer

Council of Canadians

[613] 233.4487 x.234

[613] 233.6776 fax

[613] 795.8685 cell

1.800.387.7177 toll free

http://www.canadians.org

• 110 Trade Justice