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By Mia Rabson

When it comes to the North American Free Trade Agreement, Canada can safely claim the title of biggest loser in terms of lawsuits.

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Since the agreement came into force in 1994, Canada has been sued 39 times by foreign companies claiming Canadian policies have violated their rights under NAFTA.

That is almost half of the 84 challenges made against all three nations under the investor state provisions.

Canada has lost or settled eight cases and paid more than $215 million in compensation, while the United States has still not lost a single case or paid out a single dollar in compensation.

Challenges

About 60 per cent of the challenges aimed at Canada have targeted environmental regulations or resource management policies, including provincial regulations on oil and gas development and wind farms, forest and water.

The latest statistics were compiled by Scott Sinclair, a senior research fellow with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.