UPS/NAFTA Constitutional Challenge

Decision on constitutional challenge to NAFTA will be appealed

The Council of Canadians, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues had joined forces to challenge the validity of NAFTA investment rules. The case was heard on January 24 and 25, 2005, by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto.

NAFTA investment rules empower countless foreign investors to sue governments for taking actions that may be entirely warranted and in the public interest. These rules have been invoked to challenge environmental and public health laws, water protection measures, municipal land-use approvals, the delivery of services by Canada Post, the allocation of softwood export quotas and the decisions of juries and appellate courts.

The groups had applied to Ontario’s Superior Court for declarations that NAFTA investment rules are unconstitutional because they undermine the independence of Canadian courts by improperly delegating authority to adjudicate matters reserved to them by the Constitution Act, infringe the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Charter, exceed the treaty making powers of the federal government and violate the rule of law.

The appeal was heard in June 2006, and the decision is pending.

The groups are represented by Steven Shrybman, a partner in the law firm of SACK GOLDBLATT MITCHELL.

UPS vs. Canada (AUDIO)
Council of Canadians board member Steven Shrybman explains the significance of Canada's win in the latest NAFTA ruling, CBC Radio, As it Happens, June 14, 2007.

NAFTA ruling against UPS may curb investor suits vs. state-run firms, Inside U.S. Trade, June 22, 2007

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