Parliament has unanimously approved a call for Ottawa to oppose a multi-million dollar legal challenge by Dow AgroSciences against a Quebec ban on use of 2,4-D in the province.
In 2003, the Quebec government enacted a pest management code that it has used to ban use of the popular chemical because of studies that conclude it is a public health hazard.
In 2008, Dow used a section of the North American Free Trade Agreement to sue Canada for $2 million in compensation for lost potential sales profits.
The case remains unresolved.
Read Also
CDC ends emergency bird flu response in U.S.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has ended its emergency response for H5N1 avian flu, owing to a decline in animal infections and no reports of human cases since February.
In March, the House of Commons committee on international trade approved a resolution calling on the Conservative government to “vigorously defend” Quebec’s right to pass environmental regulations.
Conservatives on the committee opposed the resolution because opposition MPs used the debate to denounce NAFTA’s Chapter 11. It gives American and Mexican companies the right to challenge domestic laws and regulations that do not treat them the same as national corporations. It gives Canadian companies the same ability to challenge discriminatory laws in other NAFTA countries.
They can claim compensation for lost potential profits if a domestic regulation denies them market access under the free trade deal.
However, in a surprise move, members of the Conservative minority government last week sided with the opposition in calling for a defence against the Dow attack on Quebec environmental regulations despite their earlier opposition.
“Should this claim proceed, the government of Canada will continue to work with the government of Quebec to vigorously defend our interests including the pesticide management code,” Conservative Ontario MP Dean Allison said during a three-hour debate Sept. 29.
He was one of only two Conservatives to speak.
Heritage minister James Moore intervened late in the debate to defend NAFTA and Chapter 11.
New Democrat, Liberal and Bloc Québécois speakers used the time to denounce the NAFTA and to argue that the Conservatives would rather defend corporate profits than Canadians’ right to enforce their own environmental standards.
At that point, it seemed the Conservatives would oppose the resolution.
British Columbia New Democrat Peter Julian, who brought the issue to the Commons, said the Dow complaint against Quebec and demand for compensation from federal taxpayers could apply to any Canadian jurisdiction, including Ontario that has enacted a ban on cosmetic pesticide use.
“As democratic representatives in the House of Commons, we have to very clearly take the stand that when powerful international companies attack democratic entities and attack the rights of those entities to make safety regulations and environmental regulations in the public interest, Parliament has to clearly take a stand,” he said.
