United Parcel Service's (UPS) complaint under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has been rejected by the tribunal hearing the case.  The government release on the tribunal decision indicates that UPS lost on all grounds.

This is a huge victory and a big relief. Postal workers and the public have been very concerned – and vocal - about the potential impact of a NAFTA tribunal decision on public postal service and jobs.

UPS sued Canada over six years ago, under NAFTA’s Chapter 11, which allows corporations to challenge governments if they think their investments are restricted by government measures. UPS claimed that its investments were being restricted by Canada’s publicly funded network of mailboxes and post offices because this network allegedly provided Canada Post with an unfair advantage. The tribunal had already dismissed several elements of the claim.

Only highlights

Only highlights of the decision have been released to date.

The federal government’s media release on the final decision indicates that the tribunal dismissed allegations of unfair treatment with respect to the postal network, customs and the Canadian Heritage Publications Assistance Program. The government says that it will release the full decision within thirty days.

You can get a few additional details at the government’s website:

http://w01.international.gc.ca/minpub/Publication.aspx?isRedirect=True
&publication_id=385211&language=E&docnumber=78

NAFTA concerns remain

We are very happy that the tribunal rejected UPS’s complaint but that doesn’t mean that we think NAFTA works. NAFTA allowed UPS to put public postal service and jobs on trial. A secret trial.

The public and postal workers should have the right to be heard when their jobs or public services are threatened.

CUPW is determined to work with our allies to abrogate NAFTA. We also believe that NAFTA rules allowing foreign corporations to sue governments are unconstitutional.

CUPW and the Council of Canadian have asked the Supreme Court of Canada to hear an appeal concerning the constitutionality of NAFTA investment rules. The Supreme Court has the right to grant or deny leave to appeal.

The struggle against unjust trade agreements continues…