Standing Committee on International Trade

Comité permanent du commerce international

For immediate release

Ottawa, June 14, 2021 -

Today, the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade presented its report entitled Investor–State Dispute Settlement: Some Considerations for Canada.

The report’s two recommendations are designed to ensure that investor–state dispute-settlement (ISDS) mechanisms in Canada’s trade and investment agreements would undergo periodic review, with any needed reforms occurring thereafter, and that transparency regarding the costs of these mechanisms would be enhanced.

“Many of Canada’s international trade and investment agreements contain an ISDS mechanism, a situation that is likely to continue into the future,” said the Hon. Judy A. Sgro, P.C., M.P., Chair of the committee. “Foreign investments contribute to Canada’s economic growth, and ISDS mechanisms have the potential both to provide protection for Canadian investments abroad and to offer assurances for foreign investors in Canada.”

Ms. Sgro concluded: “The committee is confident that this report, including its recommendations, will be helpful to the Government of Canada in its efforts to develop a comprehensive, new, inclusive and modern ISDS model for the country’s foreign investment promotion and protection agreements.”

The committee’s report can be accessed on its website .