FINAL SUBMISSIONS

The document analyzes the draft Investment Chapter of CETA, concluding that it provides foreign investors with the most investor-friendly rights ever drafted by the Canadian government. The author highlights six technical issues—including the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) provision, Fair and Equitable Treatment (FET), and the 'right to regulate' clause—that collectively increase the risk of investor-state disputes and may discourage the implementation of future environmental and public health measures.

• The draft CETA Investment Chapter is expected to grant foreign investors the most extensive set of corporate rights ever included in a Canadian treaty, which, combined with investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms, will allow more investors to challenge federal and provincial health and environmental measures.
• The Most Favoured Nation (MFN) provision is 'fully open and backward looking,' allowing investors to apply rights from older, less carefully drafted treaties to current disputes, effectively reversing the forward-looking approach used in the 2004 Canadian Model FIPPA.
• The Fair and Equitable Treatment (FET) provision is described as the most open-ended and unpredictable version ever drafted by Canada because it incorporates customary international law without defining thresholds for government misconduct or tests for application.
• The proposed 'umbrella clause' would elevate any specific written obligation between a government and an investor to an international law obligation, potentially allowing investors to bypass domestic courts in favor of international tribunals.
• CETA's approach to exceptions for National Treatment and MFN requires a complete listing of all existing non-conforming measures, placing a high burden on provinces and territories and making accidental omissions irreversible.
• The general exception clause (similar to GATT Art. XX) for environment and health is viewed as ineffective because it imports a restrictive WTO 'necessity test' and allows three arbitrators to make final decisions without the possibility of appeal.
• The 'right to regulate' clause, intended for the CETA preamble, is analyzed as a restriction rather than an expansion of government power, as it requires regulation to be 'consistent with the Agreement,' meaning the treaty prevails over the right to regulate.

APA

MANN, H. (2013). FINAL SUBMISSIONS. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/CIIT_final_submission_trade.pdf

Chicago

MANN, HOWARD. FINAL SUBMISSIONS. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2013. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/CIIT_final_submission_trade.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=MANN |first1=HOWARD |title=FINAL SUBMISSIONS |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=5 December 2013 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/CIIT_final_submission_trade.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mann2013final, author = {MANN, HOWARD}, title = {{FINAL SUBMISSIONS}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2013}, month = dec, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/CIIT_final_submission_trade.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }