Comments on the Final Environmental Assessment of the Canada-China Environmental Assessments of Trade Agreements Trade Agreements and NAFTA Secretariat Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada 125 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G2 Fax: (613) 992-9392 E-mail: EAconsultationsEE@international.gc.ca Re: Comments on Final Environmental Assessment of the Canada-China FIPA agreement. (http://www.international.gc.ca/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/agr-acc/chinachine/finalEA-pub-EEfinale.aspx?lang=eng&view=d&fb_source=message) November 8, 2012 To Whom It May Concern, ForestEthics Advocacy is disappointed by the lack of detail and information presented in the Final Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA). The information presented in these documents do not constitute anything like a science based or environmentally relevant EA. Initial EA (2008): The initial environmental assessment on the Canada/China FIPA was conducted in 2008. At this time, Chinese direct investment in Canada was around $1.3 billion and represented 0.3% of total Foreign Direct Investment in Canada. It is noted in the EA that there were three mining investments in Canada: two in Alberta’s oil sands and one in Vancouver. The EA noted that these industries (oil sands and mining), despite having adverse environmental impacts (high GHG emissions, water usage and quality, habitat destruction and questionable land reclamations), are regulated by federal and provincial statutes. The initial EA, at 13-pages, is both cursory and dated given the significant changes in Chinese investment patterns from 2008 to today, as well as significant changes to Canadian environmental legislation. Final EA (2012): The results of the initial EA assumed that there would be no significant changes to Chinese investment in Canada. However, between 2008 and 2011, there was a 92.4% increase in Chinese investment in Canada, and that foreign direct investment from China
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