Apr 08, 2019 | by Damien Charlotin
Canada has been put on notice of a dispute by a Czech investor, the Lama Energy Group, under the Canada-Czech Republic bilateral investment treaty, IAReporter has learned.
The dispute is related to a stalled oilsands project in Alberta that has been pending regulatory approval, and in which the group’s Albertan subsidiary, Petrolama Energy, has been involved.
The Calgary Herald reported last week about the growing frustrations from the investors engaged this project, as they complain of unexpected delays in obtaining the province’s green light.
The delay comes after a 2015 election in Alberta that brought to power a left-leaning government that has shown more attention to environmental and indigenous communities issues. (As we’ve reported, that Albertan government has also pursued more ambitious phase-outs of coal-fired electricity generation, thus leading to another recent investment treaty dispute; a new election is scheduled for this month in the province.)
The Lama Energy Group filed its notice of dispute on March 29th, 2019. The investor is represented by the law firm Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt in Toronto.
The BIT allows investors to file for investment arbitration after a six-month negotiation period. If an arbitration is then initiated, it would be the second known BIT-based arbitration against Canada, with the Global Telecom v. Canada case at ICSID being the first (see here). Canada has, of course, faced many arbitration claims by U.S. investors under the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Source: IAReporter
https://www.iareporter.com/