Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers has been refused the right to appear as a party at the hearing involving United Parcel Service's lawsuit against the federal government.
United Parcel Service has launched a $230 million lawsuit against the federal government, claiming that its rights as a foreign investor have been harmed by Canada Post.
An international tribunal, whose rules are not based on Canadian law, will examine the case, taking into consideration the rules for settling a trade dispute set out in NAFTA's controversial chapter 11.
Yet, last summer at the meeting of the NAFTA commission, the Minister for International Trade expressed his delight at the measures taken to clarify the provisions of this chapter. He said “We want the process for settling disputes between an investor and a state, which is provided for in NAFTA, to be as open and transparent as possible”.
The minister will have to explain what he means to the 45,000 Canada Post workers whose views are not being heard.