NAFTA tribunal finds ‘open questions’ about Canada’s polar bear protections

OTTAWA – A NAFTA tribunal says there are “central open questions” about how Canada is enforcing its own laws when it comes to protecting polar bears.

And the damning ruling sets the table for a full factual study of the government’s practices under Canada’s Species At Risk Act.

The report marks the second-to-last step in an exhaustive process that began with a complaint in 2011 by the U.S.-based Center for Biological Diversity.

Sarah Uhlemann, the Seattle-based lawyer for the organization, says the tribunal process is designed to shame governments into following their own environmental laws.

The process was negotiated as part of the North American Free Trade Agreement to ensure the environment didn’t get trampled in the rush of trade liberalization.

Mexico, the United States and Canada have until Feb. 21 to vote on whether a full factual study of Canada’s behaviour will go ahead.