Annual Report April 1998 – March 1999

Highlights of the Year in Review

In 1998/99, the Parties to the AIT continued to engage in negotiations, mandated by the Agreement, that are necessary for its implementation and for concluding the outstanding obligations in the Agreement.

In terms of the specific activities undertaken, the highlights for this year were:

• finalizing the list of legislation governing the MASH sector for listing in the schedule to the new Annex 502.4 (MASH Annex) which sets out the procurement provisions that apply to the MASH sector;
• several provinces undertaking educational sessions to inform the MASH sector about the provisions of the new MASH Annex;
• continuing negotiations to ensure equal access for Canadian suppliers to procurement opportunities across the country;
• continuing negotiations to reduce the number of government entities excluded from the procurement rules;
• retaining a consultant to develop an electronic system for the implementation of Annex 606 which provides for the reconciliation of extra-provincial corporate registration and reporting requirements;
• continuing negotiations to clarify the Code of Conduct on Incentives;
• contracting with the Canadian Standards Association to develop a Canadian quality assurance standard for the procurement of computers by governments;
• continuing negotiations to resolve the outstanding issue in the Energy Chapter which deals with the nature and extent of carve-outs for regional economic development programs;
• elaborating the concept of a major public consultations project;
• creating a Working Group to investigate the reporting requirement in Chapter 5 with a view to increasing their value and relevance;
• preparing a report on incentives provided by foreign governments;
• completing the first Chapter 17 dispute resolution panel process; and
• developing a chapter specific dispute resolution procedure for handling complaints related to Chapter 8 – Consumer related Measures and Standards.

In 1998/99, 22 disputes were formally initiated using the dispute settlement mechanisms provided for under the Agreement. Of these, 18 had been addressed by year end and 4 remain to be resolved. Since the coming into force of the AIT in July 1995, there have been a total of 65 disputes filed to date of which 58 have been addressed. Further the average length of time to dispose of a dispute has been steadily dropping from 6.1 months in 1995/96 to 3.2 months in the current reporting period with an average of 4.3 months over the period since the coming into force of the AIT.

The following sections of this report provide details about the above, and other, activities undertaken under the AIT during the period 1998/99.