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For the Period Ending March 31, 2001
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Canadian International Trade Tribunal Departmental Performance Report Paul Martin Part I - Chairperson's MessageI am pleased to present the Performance Report of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal for fiscal year 2000-2001. The Tribunal is an organization characterized by a most diversified mandate, whose workload is entirely externally generated. For this reason, the Tribunal had to effectively coordinate a workload made up of dumping and/or subsidizing injury inquiries, appeals of decisions of the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, a constantly increasing number of procurement complaints, and investigations into tariff relief requests. The Tribunal met all statutory deadlines. In last year's report, I described the initiatives that were being taken by the Tribunal to ensure that its processes and rules of procedure reflect the legislative amendments (Bill C-35) to the Special Import Measures Act and the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act that were coming into force on April 15, 2000. I am pleased to report that these initiatives allowed for the smooth implementation of these legislative amendments. Due to the nature of its mandate, the Tribunal can only contribute marginally to the "Government On-Line" initiative. Nevertheless, the Tribunal has made significant progress in the automation of the administrative record of its proceedings. This initiative will yield benefits for both the Tribunal and parties to its proceedings. The Tribunal is also exploring means by which it can utilize its Web site more effectively in its day-to-day interactions with stakeholders. The Tribunal's performance in fiscal year 2000-2001 was characterized by an increase in its workload. However, the Tribunal was able to meet the challenge because of the professionalism and dedication of its members and staff. As a key player in Canada's trade remedies system, the Tribunal is committed to supporting a fair and open trade system.
Part II - Context and PerformanceContextThe Tribunal is an independent quasi-judicial body that carries out its statutory responsibilities in an autonomous and impartial manner and reports to Parliament through the Minister of Finance. The Tribunal may be composed of up to nine full-time members, including a Chairperson and two Vice-Chairpersons, who are appointed by the Governor in Council for a term of up to five years. A maximum of five additional members may be temporarily appointed. The Chairperson is the Chief Executive Officer responsible for the assignment of members and for the management of the Tribunal's work. Members of the Tribunal are supported by a permanent staff of 86 people. Its principal officers are the Secretary, responsible for corporate management, public relations, dealings with other government departments and other governments, and the court registry functions of the Tribunal; the Executive Director, Research, responsible for the investigative portion of inquiries, the economic and financial analysis of firms and industries, the investigation of complaints by potential suppliers concerning any aspect of the procurement process and other fact finding required for Tribunal inquiries; and the General Counsel, responsible for the provision of legal services. The Tribunal derives its authority from the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act (CITT Act), which received Royal Assent on September 13, 1988. The Tribunal's mandate is to: ¬ conduct inquiries into whether dumped or subsidized imports have caused, or are threatening to cause, material injury to a domestic industry; Because of its mandate and structure, the Tribunal has one business line - to act as an administrative court for dumping and subsidizing inquiries, appeals from CCRA decisions on customs and excise matters, and procurement complaints and as an advisor to the government or the Minister of Finance on a broad range of trade, economic or tariff-related matters. The Tribunal's decisions may be reviewed by or appealed to, as appropriate, the Federal Court of Canada and, ultimately, the Supreme Court of Canada, or a binational panel under NAFTA, in the case of a decision affecting U.S. and/or Mexican interests. Governments that are members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) may appeal the Tribunal's decisions to a dispute settlement panel under the WTO Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes. The objective of the Tribunal's business line is to ensure that Canada can rely on a fair and efficient trade remedies system and that the government, through the Tribunal's fact-finding inquiries and standing references, can formulate strategies aimed at making Canadian producers more competitive in the global trade environment. The economic climate is a key external factor affecting the Tribunal's work. It is a responsive institution reacting entirely to external demand. Downturns in the domestic and global economies usually lead to the deterioration of markets and to increased competition for the remaining business. At such times, domestic producers become increasingly sensitive to competition from imports and increasingly likely to seek protection against them. This generally leads to a larger number of inquiries in response to dumping and/or subsidizing complaints under SIMA. NAFTA, the AGP and the Agreement on the Procurement of Telecommunications Equipment require signatory governments to maintain an independent bid challenge (complaint) authority. The CITT Act establishes the Tribunal as the complaint authority for Canada. The Tribunal is also the bid challenge authority under the AIT. As the bid challenge authority for federal government procurement, the Tribunal determines whether the government institution responsible for the procurement under review has met the requirements of international and national trade agreements and Canadian legislation. Furthermore, the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement and the Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement have provisions by which global safeguard inquiries in respect of goods imported from Israel and Chile can be conducted by the Tribunal. The Tribunal also hears appeals of CCRA decisions made under the Customs Act, the Excise Tax Act and SIMA. Pursuant to a standing reference from the Minister of Finance, the Tribunal investigates requests from domestic producers for tariff relief on imported textile inputs for use in their manufacturing operations, and makes recommendations in respect of those requests to the Minister of Finance. Finally, the Tribunal may be asked to conduct inquiries and provide advice on such economic, trade and tariff issues as are referred to the Tribunal by the Governor in Council or the Minister of Finance. Strategic PrioritiesThe Tribunal has established the following priorities: ¬ to maintain the quality of the Tribunal's findings, determinations and recommendations; The Tribunal offers services to the public in both official languages. Such services include the provision of information to the public regarding the Tribunal's mandate and functions, over-the-counter services, written and oral communications with the public and the reception of documents relevant to eventual proceedings before the Tribunal. The emphasis is on accessibility to the Tribunal's services and resources, as well as timely responses to stakeholders. "Government On-Line" InitiativeThe Tribunal continues to make significant efforts to enhance service delivery to its stakeholders through the use of information technology. Enhancements have included providing access, through its Web site, to information on the Tribunal and its publications, notices of inquiry and decisions. Also included is a service that advises interested parties, via e-mail, that new documents have been posted on its Web site. The Tribunal is also in the process of implementing an application that will allow for the automation of the administrative record in its proceedings. This initiative will yield benefits to both the Tribunal and parties participating in its proceedings. The Tribunal is also looking at means by which potential complainants could file their complaints or appeals electronically via the Tribunal's Web site. In light of the key results identified below, the Tribunal is in a position to continue to be a key player in Canada's trade remedies system.
PerformanceThe Tribunal's challenge is to support a fair and open trade system. The Tribunal's performance is assessed against the following criteria. The Tribunal's decisions may be reviewed by or appealed to the Federal Court of Canada, or a binational panel under NAFTA or a WTO dispute settlement panel. Of the 15 cases investigated by the Tribunal pursuant to SIMA during fiscal year 2000-2001, 2 decisions were appealed to the Federal Court of Canada, and the appeals were in progress at year end. As for the Tribunal's 2 decisions issued in the previous fiscal year that were appealed to the Federal Court of Canada, in one case, the Tribunal's decision was affirmed, in the other, the appeal was discontinued. One decision was the subject of a review by a binational panel under NAFTA. As for appeals to binational panels that were in progress at the end of fiscal year 1999-2000, the Tribunal's decisions were affirmed in two cases, one proceeding was suspended, and the other was still in progress at year end. No Tribunal decisions were appealed to a WTO dispute settlement panel. As for Tribunal decisions regarding appeals from CCRA decisions under the Customs Act, the Excise Tax Act and SIMA, the Federal Court of Canada dealt with 14 appeals of Tribunal decisions. The results of these appeals were as follows: 1 was discontinued, 9 were dismissed, 3 were allowed, and 1 was allowed in part. As the bid challenge authority for federal government procurement, the Tribunal makes determinations that may consist of a recommendation to the government institution (such as retendering, re-evaluating or providing compensation) and the award of reasonable costs to a prevailing complainant. In fiscal year 2000-2001, the Tribunal made 28 determinations, 12 of which included recommendations. Of these recommendations, 9 were implemented by the government institution, while 3 are held in abeyance pending the outcome of applications for judicial review. The Federal Court of Canada dismissed four applications to review a Tribunal determination, and three applications were allowed in part. Two other applications were discontinued, and seven were in progress at year end. As for its mandate under the textile reference, the Tribunal makes recommendations to the Minister of Finance on whether tariff relief should be granted on imported textile inputs. Eight recommendations were issued to the Minister of Finance in 2000-2001. Two recommendations were implemented by the Minister of Finance, and the remaining six were still under consideration at the end of this fiscal year. The Tribunal's decisions regarding dumping and/or subsidizing and procurement complaints are subject to statutory deadlines. In fiscal year 2000-2001, 43 decisions were issued covering these two areas of the Tribunal's mandate. All decisions were issued within the statutory deadlines. As for appeals of CCRA decisions, the Tribunal issued 58 decisions. The Tribunal's objective is to issue its decisions, which are not subject to statutory deadlines, within 120 days of the hearing. The Tribunal did not systematically meet the 120-day deadline. Due to its diversified mandate, the Tribunal must ensure that those areas of its mandate that are subject to statutory deadlines are dealt with on a priority basis. The Tribunal has established the Bench and Bar Committee to promote discussion on issues of importance with the Canadian Bar Association and trade consultants. Meetings are held on a semi-annual basis and allow participants to present their views and concerns about the Tribunal's processes and procedures and allow the Tribunal to seek the views of stakeholders on proposed initiatives. The Tribunal also communicates with its stakeholders to seek their views when considering the introduction of new procedures. It also issues practice notices and guidelines to convey its new procedures to the community at large. These consultative mechanisms allow the Tribunal to remain accessible to various groups of stakeholders and to take advantage of their points of view. Part III - AnnexesAnnex I - Financial PerformanceThe Tribunal started the year with authorities of $8.6 million. Supplementary estimates in the amount of $288,000 were then approved to allow the carry-forward of the previous years' lapses. Treasury Board approved a sum of $296,000 for the negotiated salary increases and a sum of $15,000 for the Financial Strategy Initiative. Finally, an additional sum of $143,000 was paid for the Employee Benefit Plan, thereby increasing the authorities to $9.3 million. In 2000-2001, the Tribunal spent $8.8 million of its total authorities of $9.3 million. The surplus of approximately $578,000 is primarily due to delays in the resourcing of positions, as well as the need to delay certain projects until fiscal year 2000-2001. Financial Table 1
Total authorities are Main Estimates plus Supplementary Estimates plus other authorities.
Total authorities are Main Estimates plus Supplementary Estimates plus other authorities.
Total authorities are Main Estimates plus Supplementary Estimates plus other authorities. Annex II - Other InformationThe Secretary Telephone: (613) 993-3595 Tribunal's Web Site: www.citt-tcce.gc.ca
Annual Report · 1989-90 to 2000-2001 Bulletin · 1995-2001 Guides · Introductory Guide to the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Pamphlets · Information on Appeals from Customs, Excise and SIMA Decisions Textile Reference: Annual Status Report · 1994-95 to 1999-2000 [Table of Contents] Initial publication: November 9, 2001 |
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