Lone Pine Resources, Inc.(fka LPRIQ)

[porkchopranch]

https://www.wireservice.ca/index.php?module=News&func=display&sid=22032



Advocacy group Leadnow is condemning a lawsuit brought by Lone Pine Resources against the Canadian government as yet another example of why investor-state dispute settlement rules in NAFTA are deeply flawed and need to be scrapped.

WireService.ca Media Release (10/03/2017) Toronto, ON - Arbitration hearings on the case began yesterday in Toronto. Lone Pine is suing the Canadian government for $250 million after Quebec put a moratorium on fracking underneath the St. Lawrence River until further impact studies could be conducted.

The lawsuit has been initiated under Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) rules of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) — dangerous, extreme, and anti-democratic rules that allow corporations to sue countries in foreign tribunals for passing laws or regulations that might affect their future profits. Canada is the most sued country in the Global North under ISDS rules, with the majority of lawsuits challenging Canada’s environmental regulations. As a result of previous ISDS lawsuits, Canada has paid multinational companies tens of millions of dollars in compensation for its regulations and has even rolled back regulations to satisfy corporate interests.

“This case is the perfect example of how ISDS lets corporations hijack our democracies in the pursuit of maximizing profits,” said Brittany Smith, trade campaigner at Leadnow. “The public could be on the hook for 250 million because the Government of Quebec wanted to put the environment ahead of corporate profits.”

Lone Pine Resources has said it is suing Canada over the "arbitrary, capricious, and illegal revocation of (its) valuable right to mine for oil and gas".

“This is outrageous, and pure corporate doublespeak. Corporations don’t have a right to frack — they have the responsibility to follow the rules of the country under which they do business,” said Smith. “ Governments have the right and responsibility to make decisions in the public interest. This case shows that ISDS has normalized this idea that companies have rights which exceed democratic decision-making.”

ISDS rules have become a major political flashpoint in NAFTA re-negotiations, with a broad coalition of civil society groups calling for them to be scrapped from the deal. Over 12,000 members of the Leadnow community have sent the government messages calling on them to remove ISDS in a re-negotiated NAFTA, and to force companies with trade grievances to seek legal remedy in Canada’s domestic courts, which is the international standard.

Hearings on this case will take place over a 2-week period, beginning October 2, 2017. For more information, or to attend the Lone Pine hearing, visit: http://www.publicnow.com/view/ACFAD017E385C187B5F97C1C11C51F27CBB43520?2017-09-20-14:30:06+01:00-xxx1302