Category Archives: Speeches and Conference Panels

Mark Warner participated in a panel on an industrial policy and “friendshoring” panel in the Canadian Global Affairs Institute 2023 Conference on International Trade on Navigating Canada’s Interests Through Resurging Protectionism. (March 29, 2023) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels and has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations. Mark was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade advising on trade negotiations and dispute settlement and on economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to corporations, including Huawei. Mr. Warner also provided advice to the Government of Ontario on the design of the Green Energy Act and related WTO dispute settlement proceedings. He also previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate where he participated in the negotiations of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment and represented the OECD at meetings of the WTO Working Group on Trade and Competition Policy and the Working Group on Trade and Investment.

Mark has been an adviser to the Governments of Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam on competition and trade policy and at the invitation of the U.S. Department of State lectured in five cities in Japan on international antitrust law and policy. As Assistant Director of the University of Baltimore’s Centre for International and Comparative Law, Mark hired a Chinese scholar to begin a research program on reforming anti-monopoly law in China, one of the first such efforts at the time. He is frequently interviewed in print, radio and television on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Agreement. 

Mark provides international trade and investment law advice to natural resources clients on trade agreements, trade remedies, sanctions, export and import controls, anti-corruption, corporate social responsibility and compliance issues as a colleague at Pilot Law which provides comprehensive legal services for developing resource businesses in the mining, energy and renewables sectors.

Mark Warner participated in the Dalhousie University Schulich School of Law 2nd Viscount Bennett Roundtable on International Economic Law panel about the proposed changes to the Investment Canada Act to update the national security review process for foreign investments. (March 6, 2023) Mark is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, DC and New York and has advised governments on trade and investment policy and negotiations and previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate, and 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 for trade negotiations (including the Canada-EU Trade Agreement and the Canada-U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement), advised on trade disputes (including the Green Energy Act and softwood lumber) and various NAFTA Chapter 11 investor-state arbitration matters and Investment Canada Act reviews. As MEDT Legal Director, Mark advised on economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to corporations, including Chinese telecommunications firm, Huawei.

Mark provides international trade and investment law advice to natural resources clients on trade agreements, trade remedies, sanctions, export and import controls, anti-corruption, corporate social responsibility and compliance issues as a colleague at Pilot Law which provides comprehensive legal services for developing resource businesses in the mining, energy and renewables sectors.

Mark Warner appeared before the Canadian House of Commons’ Standing Committee on International Trade as part of its study of the Canada-U.S. relationship and its impact on softwood lumber trade. (March 23, 2022) Mark’s opening statement is here along with responses to questions from Bonita Zarrillo, M.P. and Tracy Gray, 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. Mark also provides international trade and investment law advice to natural resources clients on trade agreements, trade remedies, sanctions, export and import controls, anti-corruption, corporate social responsibility and compliance issues as a colleague at Pilot Law which provides comprehensive legal services for developing resource businesses in the mining, energy and renewables sectors.

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

Mr. Warner also led the Ontario’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler, and various grant and loan agreements to leading automotive and automotive parts companies, including to electric car battery manufacturer, Electrovaya and a Better Place demonstration centre and electric vehicle charging station network.

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. He is also a past Chair of the International and Economics Committees of the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law as well as a member of the Section’s Task Forces on Competition Policy and NAFTA and Antitrust in the Global Economy. Mark was also co-author of a leading Canadian trade law treatise (with the Hon. William C. Graham and Professors Jean-Gabriel Castel and Armand de Mestral).

Mark Warner participated in a panel on cross-border commerce, COVID-19, and strengthening regional economies at the International Legislators’ Forum sponsored by the Consensus Council. (October 26, 2021) Mark is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced trade, investment and competition law in leading law firms in Toronto, Washington, D.C, New York and Brussels and has advised governments on competition law and policy. As counsel at the OECD Trade Directorate in Paris, 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 has also served as Legal Director of the Ontario Ministries of Economic Development & Trade, Research & Innovation and Consumer Services. He led Ontario’s legal team for trade negotiations (including the Canada-EU Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Canada-U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement), advised on trade disputes (including the Green Energy Act and softwood lumber) and various NAFTA Chapter 11 investor-state disputes (including the Ambassador Bridge, Adam’s Mine and St. Mary’s Cement claims).  Mark also led the Ontario’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler, and various grant and loan agreements to leading automotive and automotive parts companies and advised the Auto Parts Manufacturing Association on NAFTA renegotiation issues.

Mark has assisted pharmaceutical clients in the global distribution of HIV / AIDS anti-retroviral drugs and the development of innovative patient access programs in the developing world. In the negotiations of the CETA Mark advised Ontario including on IP, patent litigation and drug reimbursement issues as well as Cross Border Trade in Services; Temporary Entry and Stay of Natural Persons for Business Purposes; Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications; and Regulatory Cooperation.

Mark Warner was invited to appear before the Canadian House of Commons’ Standing Committee on International Trade as part of its study of Canada’s trade and investment policy, and trade agreements in respect of how they may help or hinder the production and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in Canada and across the world. (April 23, 2021) [Transcript] Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels 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.

Mr. Warner has assisted pharmaceutical clients in the global distribution of HIV / AIDS anti-retroviral drugs and the development of innovative patient access programs in the developing world, advised a U.S.-based pharmaceutical company and its French and South African subsidiaries in a cartel investigation involving 11 leading global Pharmaceutical companies in South Africa and advised a U.S.-based pharmaceutical company on competition law issues relating to the distribution of various nuclear medicine imaging agents in Canada. Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and advised Ontario on the negotiations of the Canada-EU Trade Agreement (CETA) including on IP, patent litigation and drug reimbursement issues and on economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to corporations, including leading global pharmaceutical companies for research, manufacture and clinical trial projects. As Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, Mr. Warner also led Ontario’s legal team in creating the $250 million Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund with an emphasis on life-sciences companies, drafted funding agreements, including for the Ontario Research Fund and Ontario Brain Institute, and advised on legal and corporate governance issues in the formation of Clinical Trials Ontario.

In addition, as MEDT Legal Director, Mark led the Ontario’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler in the difficult context of the 2008-2009 Recession.

Mark has provided technical assistance / legislative drafting advice to senior government officials and international institutions relating to law & policy in Africa, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, South America and Central & Eastern Europe. His academic experience includes a tenure-track teaching position at the University of Baltimore School of Law and serving as Assistant Director of its Center of International & Comparative Law; part-time teaching positions at the University of Leiden Law School, the World Trade Institute, the International Institute for Management in Telecommunications, the Howard University Summer program at the University of the Western Cape (Cape Town), the International Law Institute African Centre for Legal Excellence and Addis Ababa University Faculty of Business and Economics and appointments as Visiting Fellow at Osgoode Hall Law School and Executive Fellow at the Mowat Centre for Policy Innovation at the University of Toronto.

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.

Mark Warner participated in a CIBC Capital Markets Global Investment Banking panel discussion about the likely evolution of international trade after the COVID19 pandemic. (February 17, 2021) Mr. Warner is a Canadian / U.S. lawyer who has practiced trade, investment and competition law in leading law firms in Toronto, New York, Washington, D.C and Brussels and as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate in Paris. 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.

Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and Ministry of Research & Innovation. He led Ontario’s legal team for trade negotiations (including the Canada-EU Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Canada-U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement), advised on trade disputes (including the Green Energy Act and softwood lumber) and various NAFTA Chapter 11 investor-state. Mark also led the Ontario’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler.

Mark has assisted pharmaceutical clients in the global distribution of HIV / AIDS anti-retroviral drugs and the development of innovative patient access programs in the developing world. Mark advised Ontario on IP, patent litigation and drug reimbursement issues in the negotiations of the CETA negotiations and on economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to leading global pharmaceutical companies for research, manufacture and clinical trial projects.

Mr. Warner also led Ontario’s legal team in creating the $250 million Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund, the $205 million Ontario Venture Capital Fund and establishing the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation. Mark has been a Visiting Lecturer on the GATS and Financial Services at the World Trade Institute in Berne and before attending law school was a Summer Intern in the Economic Research and Securities Lending Departments, Wood Gundy, Inc.

Mark Warner participated in a CIBC Capital Markets Global Markets panel discussion about the legal and political implications of President Biden’s decision to cancel the Keystone XL Project and possible next steps. (January 27, 2021) Mr. Warner 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. Mark previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate and 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.  Mr. Warner 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 arbitration disputes (including the Ambassador Bridge, Adam’s Mine and St. Mary’s Cement) and on the Canada-U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement. In addition, Mr. Warner, led the Province’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler in the difficult context of the 2008-2009 Recession. 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.

Mark provides international trade and investment law advice to natural resources clients on trade agreements, trade remedies, sanctions, export and import controls, anti-corruption, corporate social responsibility and compliance issues as a colleague at Pilot Law which provides comprehensive legal services for developing resource businesses in the mining, energy and renewables sectors.

Mark’s experience includes negotiating and drafting Government of Ontario grant and loan agreements and equity investments for clean energy (solar and wind) projects. Mark has provided competition law advice to a major oil company concerning oil refining and retail distribution in North America and advised on the first ever post-accession European Commission notification of a merger involving two of Central Europe’s largest refiners of crude oil. 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.

Mark Warner participated in a Lawrence National Centre, Ivey Business School panel discussion on US-Canada relations in the wake of the U.S. election. (December 2, 2020) 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. Mark was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and led Ontario’s legal team for trade negotiations (including the Canada-EU Trade Agreement and the Canada-U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement), advised on trade disputes (including the Green Energy Act and softwood lumber) and various NAFTA Chapter 11 investor-state arbitration matters. As MEDT Legal Director, Mark advised on economic development, research and innovation grants and loans to corporations, including Huawei and led the Province’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler in the difficult context of the 2008-2009 Recession.

Mark Warner participated in a multi-city Virtual First Friday’s panel on the importance of the Black vote. (October 2, 2020) Mr. Warner is a Canadian and U.S. lawyer who has practiced in leading law firms in Toronto, Washington, D.C., New York and Brussels. He has advised governments on trade policy and trade negotiations and previously worked on trade and competition issues as counsel in the OECD Trade Directorate. Mr. Warner was Legal Director of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and led the Province’s legal team for the insolvency / restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler in the difficult context of the 2008-2009 Recession.

Mr. Warner has provided legal technical assistance to senior government officials in Africa under the auspices of UNCTAD, World Bank and UNDP, including Ethiopia, COMESA and South Africa. He has advised a leading global pharmaceutical company on its innovative global distribution and licensing of its AIDS drugs in Africa. His academic experience includes a tenure-track teaching position at the University of Baltimore School of Law and serving as Assistant Director of its Center of International & Comparative Law and part-time teaching positions at teaching appointments in the Howard University Summer program at the University of the Western Cape (Cape Town), the International Law Institute African Centre for Legal Excellence and Addis Ababa University Faculty of Business and Economics.