NAFTA - Chapter 11 - Investment

Other Cases Related to NAFTA Chapter 11

Council of Canadians, CUPW and the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues v. the Attorney General of Canada

In March 2001, the Council of Canadians, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues filed a Notice of Application in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice alleging that the dispute settlement provisions of Chapter 11 violate rights guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as provisions of the Constitution Act relating to the jurisdiction of the courts. The challenge was heard before Madame Justice Pepall of the Ontario Superior Court from January 24 -26, 2005. On July 8, 2005, Justice Pepall dismissed the application in its entirety.

On July 11, 2005, the three Applicants announced they will appeal Madame Justice Pepall’s (Ontario Superior Court) decision, and filed a Notice of Appeal on August 5, 2005.

The Council of Canadians, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues (the Appellants) filed their factum with the Court of Appeal for Ontario on November 30, 2005. The Government of Canada (Respondent) filed its factum on May 3, 2006.

Commencing Monday June 19, 2006, a three day hearing was held by the Court of Appeal for Ontario to consider the submissions and oral arguments of the Parties.

On November 30, 2006, the Court of Appeal of Ontario, as did the Ontario Superior Court in the first instance, rejected all the arguments made by the Appellants.

Legal Documents (all documents are in pdf)

Copies of all legal documents posted have been prepared in a language of operation of the Tribunal or Court in question. The Government of Canada has not modified or changed them in any way. As such they have not been translated from the original. They are provided in Acrobat (pdf) files. To view or download pdf files you need Adobe® Acrobat® Reader™ a free software that you can download from the web.

• Notice of Application (PDF Document - 1.00 MB) - March 28, 2001
• In support of the Applicant: Affidavit of M. Sornarajah (PDF Document - 327 KB) - April 28, 2003
• In support of the Applicant: Affidavit of A. Lajoie (PDF Document - 3.04 MB) - May 14, 2003
• In support of the Applicant: Affidavit of S. Clarkson (PDF Document - 285 KB) - May 26, 2003
• Amended Notice of Application (PDF Document - 1.92 MB) - October 30, 2003
• In Support of the Respondent: Affidavit of D. MacKenzie filed in Democracy Watch and CUPE v. the Attorney General of Canada (PDF Document - 310 KB) - December 18, 2003
• In Support of the Respondent: Affidavit of J. Crawford filed in Democracy Watch and CUPE v. the Attorney General of Canada (PDF Document - 823 KB) - September 1, 2004
• In Support of the Respondent: Affidavit of J. Crawford (PDF Document - 802 KB) - July 15, 2004
• In Support of the Applicant: Affidavit of M. Bienefeld (PDF Document - 3.06 MB) - August 30, 2004
• In Support of the Applicant: Affidavit of D. Schneiderman (PDF Document - 1.06 MB) - September 17, 2004
• Factum of the Applicants (PDF Document - 3.57 MB) - December 3, 2004
• Factum of the Respondent (PDF Document - 495 KB) - January 20, 2005
• Ontario Superior Court of Appeal Reasons for Judgement (PDF Document - 3.37 MB) - July 8, 2005
• Notice of Appeal - The Council of Canadians (PDF Document - 2.77 MB) - August 5, 2005
• Factum of the Appellants (PDF Document - 2.02 MB) - November 30, 2005
• Factum of the Respondent (PDF Document - 1.17 MB) - May 3, 2006
• Court of Appeal for Ontario Reasons for Judgment (PDF Document - 64.4 KB) - November 30, 2006

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