NAFTA - Chapter 11 - Investment

Cases filed against the Government of Canada

Resolute Forest Products Inc. v. Government of Canada

Claimant

The Claimant is Resolute Forest Products Inc. (“Resolute”), a manufacturer of supercalendered (“SC”) paper.

Articles

• Article 1102 (National Treatment)
• Article 1105 (Minimum Standard of Treatment)
• Article 1110 (Expropriation)

Damages claimed

At least US$ 121.4.

Status

Won. The Tribunal dismissed all the claims. The Tribunal ordered Resolute to pay two thirds of the arbitral costs.

Arbitration rules

UNCITRAL (1976)

Summary

Procedural history

On September 30, 2015, Resolute served the Government of Canada with a Notice of Intent to Submit a Claim to Arbitration. On December 30, 2015, Resolute filed a Notice of Arbitration against the Government of Canada. A Tribunal was constituted on May 26, 2016 and Canada filed its Statement of Defence on September 1, 2016.

Canada challenged the Tribunal’s jurisdiction in bifurcated proceedings. In January 2018, while it also accepted some of Canada’s argument, the Tribunal decided that it had jurisdiction over most of Resolute’s claims.

The hearings on merits and damages were delayed due to Covid-19 measures, but eventually held virtually on November 9-14, 2020 . The parties were notified June 2, 2021, that presiding arbitrator James R. Crawford had passed away. Disputing parties named Professor Bernard Hanotiau as a new presiding arbitrator. An additional hearing on the merits and damages took place virtually on October 18-19, 2021.

On July 25, 2022, the Tribunal issued its final award, dismissing all of Resolute’s claims by majority. Further, the Tribunal ordered  two thirds of the arbitration costs be paid by Resolute, while each disputing party would bear its own legal costs.

Factual overview and nature of the claim

Resolute’s claim related to alleged measures from the Government of Nova Scotia in 2012 providing financial to a SC paper mill located near Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia. Resolute argued that those measures discriminated in favor of the Port Hawkesbury mill and caused financial damage to Resolute’s SC Paper mills located in Québec.

Legal documents

This case is governed by the arbitral rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law.  Additional documents related to this case can be viewed at the website of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

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