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International Trade committee  Yes, we need a state-to-state mechanism. That would help more. They have to look at their contracts, but at a certain point, it's an ugly marketplace out there, so make your decisions accordingly.

March 22nd, 2021Committee meeting

Dr. Gus Van Harten

International Trade committee  In most contexts, treaty-based ISDS is not going to do anything for companies that have assets below hundreds of millions of dollars at stake in the country abroad. There should be a sequenced approach to managing the Canadian interest in withdrawal and the Canadian investor inte

March 22nd, 2021Committee meeting

Dr. Gus Van Harten

International Trade committee  Mr. Hoback, that's a totally fair question, an important question. I want to support entrepreneurial Canadians doing business abroad. I take my hat off to them. I'm an academic. In the private sector, “they expect results,” as they say in Ghostbusters. I have the utmost respect

March 22nd, 2021Committee meeting

Dr. Gus Van Harten

International Trade committee  Just as a prelude, let me say, withdrawal is not going to happen quickly. Withdrawal will take a generation. To withdraw fully from the obligations we have assumed under existing treaties, my view is that our general stance should be to prioritize withdrawal, where possible, dep

March 22nd, 2021Committee meeting

Dr. Gus Van Harten

International Trade committee  I entirely agree. A report that counts the number of wins and losses isn't telling us that much about the impact of ISDS because the real impact is behind the scenes. To get at that impact is very difficult for an outsider—I have tried by interviewing officials. I think there ar

March 22nd, 2021Committee meeting

Dr. Gus Van Harten

International Trade committee  Thank you, Madam Chair, and good morning, everyone. I have been studying ISDS for many years, maybe 20 years, and I have some simple advice for you today: Canada should adopt the perspective of quiet determination to withdraw from its ISDS risks and costs where possible and whe

March 22nd, 2021Committee meeting

Dr. Gus Van Harten

International Trade committee  I'll be really quick. In CETA, the investment court system, or ICS, took significant steps to improve the lack of independence, but it didn't deal with the other three.

October 2nd, 2017Committee meeting

Dr. Gus Van Harten

International Trade committee  On the independence point, there are a couple of gaps in the ICS. First, the members of the roster that was established still have a financial interest in the frequency of claims by foreign investors, so their remuneration is significantly dependent on one side bringing claims, w

October 2nd, 2017Committee meeting

Dr. Gus Van Harten

International Trade committee  Thank you very much for the question. “Independent” and “fair” are fairly straightforward, but it should be a judicial process instead of a private arbitration process. It doesn't have to be called a court, but it has to be designed in a way that you have the conventional safeg

October 2nd, 2017Committee meeting

Dr. Gus Van Harten

International Trade committee  That would be fine. I'm a law professor at Osgoode Hall Law School. For about 15 years in my research, I've specialized on international investment law and investor-state dispute settlement, or ISDS. I'll limit my comments to the investment chapter of NAFTA, chapter 11, and will

October 2nd, 2017Committee meeting

Dr. Gus Van Harten

International Trade committee  I've long been a supporter of an international judicial process to resolve the most sensitive and problematic disputes about protection of foreign investors as well as foreign-investor responsibilities. I think it has to be limited to egregious cases, because otherwise the number

November 29th, 2016Committee meeting

Dr. Gus Van Harten

International Trade committee  I have to go. Thank you very much.

November 29th, 2016Committee meeting

Dr. Gus Van Harten

November 29th, 2016Committee meeting

Dr. Gus Van Harten

International Trade committee  I think it's not necessary and it is regressive when the trade agreement is between developed countries with mature, reliable court systems.

November 29th, 2016Committee meeting

Dr. Gus Van Harten

International Trade committee  Where there would be doubts about that, I think they are already covered by Canada's existing FIPAs with some central and eastern European states. That's a different debate. However, keeping that in mind, yes, I would agree with what you said.

November 29th, 2016Committee meeting

Dr. Gus Van Harten