In February we had Canada's chief negotiator for CETA testify before this committee, Steve Verheul:
Domestic courts have no authority to adjudicate obligations in international treaties. If we're going to have any kind of form of redress for breach of an obligation in the investment treaty, we'd have to go to some other mechanism like an investment dispute resolution process.
A few weeks after this, the Canadian government announced a revised ISDS mechanism for its CETA, claiming they strengthened the sovereign right of democratically elected government to regulate, including in essential areas such as the environment and labour. Could you comment on the claim that domestic courts have no authority to adjudicate obligations in international treaties, and do you believe there is a difference between the ISDS mechanisms in TPP and CETA in terms of strengthening the rights of government to regulate in areas of public interest?