AbitibiBowater gets $130 Million fof NAFTA claim

Remember the fuss back when Newfoundland  took away water and timber rights and expropriated hydroelectric assets from AbitibiBowater?  Newfoundland said that under the terms of the 1905 lease, these rights were all contingent on Abitibi operating a mill in the province.  Since Abitibi closed the mill (itself a long drawn out affair), all of these assets reverted to the provincial government.

Abitibi, which is a Delaware company, threatened to launch an investor-state complaint under Chapter 11 of NAFTA.

Today, the Canadian federal government settled with Abitibi for $130 million - which must be one of the largest, if not the largest, NAFTA Chapter 11 payouts.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/ottawa-pays-abitibibowater-130-million-for-expropriation/article1683906/

Note that since this is a NAFTA issue, its the Federal government that is settling the matter, not NL.