Feds ratify Canada-China foreign investment deal

Canada has ratified its controversial Foreign Investment Protection Agreement (FIPA) with China.

International Trade Minister Ed Fast announced on September 12 that the pact had been signed by Canada two years after its terms were first negotiated by the two countries. The agreement will come into force on Oct. 1.

“Investment agreements provide the protection and the confidence Canadian investors need to expand, grow and succeed abroad,” Fast said in a news release. “We remain committed to opening new markets around the world for Canadian companies, including in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region. This FIPA will create jobs and economic opportunities for Canadians in every region of the country.”

China is Canada’s No. 2 trading partner, after the U.S.

A FIPA is not a free trade agreement but rather a bilateral agreement intended to “protect and promote” foreign investment through legally-binding rights and obligations. Excluding the FIPA deal with China, Canada currently has 24 FIPAs in force with countries like Russia, Argentina and the Czech Republic.

This most recent FIPA deal has been met with criticism by some, however. “The Conservatives have locked Canada into a badly one-sided agreement for the next three decades,” NDP trade critic Don Davies said in a statement. “In effect, it will give China access to, and control over, some of Canada’s natural resources for the next 31 years and subject Canadian taxpayers to enormous liabilities through investor lawsuits.” Davies had put forward a motion in the House of Commons in April 2013, calling on the government not to ratify the agreement. The motion was defeated.