Public Lecture: Risa Schwartz

On August 14, 2017, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland announced Canada’s negotiating priorities including the addition of an Indigenous Peoples chapter to a modernized NAFTA. This talk, examines whether an Indigenous Peoples chapter will allow First Nations, Inuit and Métis a platform to increase trading opportunities for Indigenous business, as well as provide for more effective protections to Indigenous rights. What types of provisions may be included by Canada in an Indigenous Peoples chapter? And, what is the current status of the NAFTA 2.0 negotiations? Participants will have the opportunity to consider whether this new policy allows for greater Indigenous participation in international law and treaty making and is a step towards implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The talk is part of Professor Maureen Irish’s International Economic Law class, and the speaker will be introduced by Professor Valarie Waboose.