CETA: Rights for Canadian multinationals

Publication

28 January 2020

This factsheet is the second of two studies on how CETA strengthens the legal position of North American companies in the EU and how it exposes European governments and taxpayers to potential claims. With CETA, Canadian investors will receive all kinds of legal privileges that are not available to national investors, small and medium-sized enterprises, and ordinary citizens. This pushes the balance of power further in favour of multinationals.

More than 3,200 Canadian companies have a subsidiary in the EU. Almost 14,000 companies in the EU have Canadian shareholders, who will soon be able to use the rights for investors under CETA.
In the Netherlands there are 428 companies that are directly owned by Canadian shareholders. Under CETA, these companies could start litigation in the current form for damages from European governments. This includes subsidiaries of major Canadian industrial companies, banks and asset managers such as Bombardier, McCain, Royal Bank of Canada and Brookfield Asset Management. Canadian investors also have a (minority) interest in large Dutch companies such as ING, Heineken and Unilever.
CETA protects the right to profit from childcare. With this treaty, investment company Onex can claim redress from the Dutch government of profit distribution in childcare.
CETA protects Canadian owner of Dutch gas. Vermilion operates small gas fields at 65 locations in the Netherlands, in particular in the North, including in the Wadden Sea, but also in Woerden, Zaltbommel and Loon op Zand, among others. With CETA, Vermilion can claim compensation for phasing out gas extraction in small fields throughout the Netherlands.
CETA can make affordable living more difficult and more expensive. With CETA, real estate investors such as Brookfield Asset Management can request compensation for government measures aimed at accessible and affordable rental properties.