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CCCA_V7No1_CoverStory-FIN_CCCA 2/12/13 4:52 PM Page 29 Cover Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, having for sure, millions of dollars — possibly tens of millions of dollars agreements in place like the FIPA certainly help as they are — to pay the lawyers and arbitrators. “confidence-building; you’re building off a track record of nego- “Furthermore, the political ramifications for your ongoing tiating economically and politically useful agreements.” business activities in China could be very serious. So, companies He also points out that establishing such a deal with China often don’t want to burn their bridges by taking [a dispute] to would be a complex task because Canada is already a signatory the level of arbitration with a country of the size, importance to a major trade agreement with China. and clout of China.The political and economic ramifications for “People tend to forget that we have a very good trade agree- your company in dealing with the Chinese government could ment with China. It’s called the World Trade Organization (WTO). be catastrophic.” And that’s a big international trade agreement to which 159 coun- Van Harten also says that it’s neither fair nor reasonable to tries are members. So, when we’re talking about a FTA, we’re compare this agreement with the 24 others that Canada has in really talking about a WTO-plus agreement,” Hart says. “And place because “those FIPAs are with countries that don’t own because the structure of the Chinese government and economy significant assets in Canada. So, we don’t assume, and Canadian are very different from the countries with which we do most of companies don’t assume, the risks that follow from giving special our trade, a classic FTA isn’t the right instrument. What you need arbitration protections to the relevant foreign investors invested is an agreement that deals with a much more complex set of in our country.” issues — and there’s no precedent for that.” There’s also another challenge: Canada is already engaged in significant trade negotiations at the moment. “The Government of Canada has a lot of trade initiatives and negotiations under way, and trade negotiators are a scarce resource. There’s only Place au commerce so many things you can take on at one time,” says Milos L'Accord Canada-Chine sur l'investissement est Barutciski, partner and co-head of international trade law with censé protéger les investisseurs et assurer l’accès à Bennett Jones LLP in Toronto. “If you look at the Canadian reac- l’économie la plus dynamique au monde. Peut-il tion, it’s been friendly, open, optimistic but also guarded. I don’t tenir ses promesses? foresee that being in the cards anytime soon,” orsque le premier ministre du Canada Stephen Harper et le Adds his partner, Matthew Kronby, who formerly headed the Lprésident de la Chine Hu Jintao ont annoncé l’année dernière Government of Canada’s Trade Law Bureau: “Canada is now la signature de l’Accord sur la promotion et la protection des trying to wrap up negotiations of a free-trade deal with the EU; investissements étrangers (APIE) entre le Canada et la Chine, la it’s launched them with Japan; it’s fully engaged in the Trans- nouvelle a déclenché au Canada un des débats les plus chauds sur Pacific Partnership negotiations; on top of that, it’s got a bunch of un traité bilatéral depuis la conclusion de l’accord de libre- smaller negotiations on the go. That’s a lot right now. It doesn’t échange avec les États-Unis à la fin des années 1980. Melanie mean Canada won’t attempt to do a free-trade deal with China, Aitken n’a pas perdu de temps avant de se mettre au travail,inten- but I wouldn’t expect any major announcements on that front tant une quantité sans précédent de recours contre des compa- anytime soon.” gnies, petites et grandes, et étant à la hauteur de sa réputation. Still, exploring such a deal is something Canadian companies Deux points de vue sont ressortis sur ce que l’accord, signé à — especially those currently engaged with the Chinese — Vladivostok (Russie) en marge de la réunion des dirigeants de la would welcome wholeheartedly. Coopération économique Asie-Pacifique (APEC), signifie pour “Having access to the Chinese market is a great benefit,” says le Canada. Les opposants affirment qu’il nuit aux intérêts cana- Daniel Desjardins, senior vice-president, general counsel and diens. Les défenseurs soutiennent qu’il stimulera l’activité corporate secretary of Montreal-based Bombardier Inc., which économique entre le Canada et l’économie qui connaît la plus has significant operations in China. “Therefore, any bilateral forte croissance au monde, en créant un ensemble de règles agreement that would ensure better, deeper access by Canada justes et équitables qui favoriseront et protégeront les investisse- to China would be of benefit for our country. ments entre les entreprises des deux pays. Quoi qu’il en soit, les “We are a country of exporters. We are a small country; it’s deux côtés s’entendent sur ce qu’il aura une incidence pour les not our national consumption that drives the economy, it’s what entreprises canadiennes — et il est temps que les conseillers we export. So, the freer the market, the better commercial rela- juridiques d’entreprises en comprennent toutes les implications. tionships [we have] with all sorts of countries [would result in] Comme des accords semblables que le Canada a signés avec greater market penetration of Canadian goods in all those coun- d’autres pays, cet APIE « sert à promouvoir l’investissement par tries, which is a plus for Canada and our companies.” les investisseurs canadiens à l’étranger et à protéger leurs PRINTEMPS 2013 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association 29