Mark Warner appeared before the Canadian House of Commons’ Standing Committee on International Trade as part of its study of the Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanisms. (March 22, 2021) Mark’s opening statement is here along with responses to questions from Committee Vice-Chair Tracy Gray, M.P., Ben Lobb, M.P., Rachel Bendayan, M.P. and Randy Hoback, M.P. and Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, M.P.

Mark is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, DC and New York and has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations and previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate. At the OECD, Mark participated in the negotiations of the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment and represented the OECD at meetings of the WTO Working Groups on Trade and Competition Policies and Trade and Investment Policies.

Mark was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and led Ontario’s legal team in the CETA negotiations, provided advice on the design of the Green Energy Act and related WTO dispute settlement proceedings, advised on various NAFTA Chapter 11 investor-state dispute arbitrations (including the Ambassador Bridge, Adam’s Mine and St. Mary’s Cement), and on the Canada-U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement.

Earlier in his career, Mark participated in an international arbitration relating to the expropriation of the assets of a U.S.-based oil company in Libya and related issues under applicable sanctions and foreign asset control rules. He is co-author of a leading Canadian trade law treatise, has also published numerous articles and has been invited to speak at conferences around the world.