Élaborer un ordre du jour progressiste pour la réforme du droit des investissements internationaux : points de vue du Canada

The document reports on a June 2018 meeting between the Canadian government, academics, and civil society representatives regarding the reform of international investment law. Participants argued that traditional investment treaties often prioritize investor protection over sustainable development and can hinder the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Canadian government expressed commitment to a progressive trade and investment agenda incorporating environment, labour, and gender equality standards. Proposed reforms include conducting cost-benefit and impact analyses before negotiations, shifting treaty focus toward sustainable development, balancing investor rights with obligations regarding corruption and human rights, and reforming or eliminating Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms to protect a state's right to legislate in the public interest, particularly regarding climate change.

• Participants argued that traditional investment treaties, established in the postcolonial period of the 1950s, primarily focus on protecting foreign investments, yet empirical evidence generally does not support the claim that these treaties significantly promote investment flows.
• Experts from civil society and academia asserted that current investment treaties and Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms can obstruct the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), exacerbate gender inequality, violate the rights of Indigenous Peoples, and hinder urgent action on climate change by limiting the ability of host states to legislate in the public interest.
• The Canadian government has committed to a progressive trade and investment agenda that includes stricter provisions for the environment, labour, gender equality, Indigenous Peoples, and small and medium-sized enterprises, while promoting responsible conduct by Canadian companies operating abroad.
• Proposed solutions for reforming investment law include performing cost-benefit and impact analyses (covering environmental, social, and human rights risks) before negotiations, shifting the objective of treaties toward sustainable development, and ensuring that investment treaties do not prevent governments from meeting international obligations, specifically those related to climate change.
• Regarding dispute settlement, participants suggested options ranging from the total elimination of ISDS to the creation of state-to-state settlement mechanisms, or improving ISDS by limiting it to specific substantive standards, requiring the exhaustion of local remedies, or eliminating it for disputes between developed countries.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2018). Élaborer un ordre du jour progressiste pour la réforme du droit des investissements internationaux : points de vue du Canada. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/executive-summary-ottawa-expert-meeting-fr.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Élaborer un ordre du jour progressiste pour la réforme du droit des investissements internationaux : points de vue du Canada. 2018. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/executive-summary-ottawa-expert-meeting-fr.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Élaborer un ordre du jour progressiste pour la réforme du droit des investissements internationaux : points de vue du Canada |date=2018 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/executive-summary-ottawa-expert-meeting-fr.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2018laborer, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Élaborer un ordre du jour progressiste pour la réforme du droit des investissements internationaux : points de vue du Canada}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2018}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/executive-summary-ottawa-expert-meeting-fr.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }