Environment, Development and Trade Project

About this grant

The Environment, Development and Trade Project is the focus of the international program of the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA). It undertakes research, outreach and advocacy efforts to improve the environmental aspects of Canadian, North American and global trade policies. Key activities include monitoring trade negotiations and trade policies; analyzing new policy proposals; advising Canadian governments on issues related to trade policy and the environment; educating the public; and working with other non-governmental organizations to develop and promote alternative policies.Multiyear funding will enable CELA to pursue objectives that include protecting the environment and human health in international law by developing accountable, participatory sustainable global governance; and protecting the environment and human health in communities impacted by investment liberalization in the mining sector. During the past two years, activities included researching the potential impacts of trade policies on the environment in Canada; increasing transparency in Canadian policymaking, arbitration disputes and negotiations; and working to broaden the constituencies for reform to include human rights groups, environmental public interest law groups in Latin America, the United Nations Development Programme and the International Labor Organization’s World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization.