PART B: Services

Article 305: Scope and Coverage

This Part:

1. applies to any measure adopted or maintained by a Party relating to service suppliers and to trade in services within Canada; and
2. does not apply to incentives.

Article 306: Formal Requirements

A Party may require that a service supplier:

1. have a local agent or local address for service;
2. post a bond or other form of financial security;
3. establish or contribute to a trust account or to a compensation fund;
4. maintain a particular type and amount of insurance or other similar guarantee;
5. maintain and provide access to records; or
6. obtain a licence, registration, or certification,

as a condition for supplying a service in or into its territory, provided that such requirements are not applied in a manner that would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination.

Article 307: Market Access – Services

1. A Party shall not adopt or maintain any measure that imposes limitations on:
   1. the number of service suppliers, whether in the form of numerical quotas, monopolies, exclusive service suppliers, or the requirement of an economic needs test;
   2. the total value of service transactions or assets in the form of numerical quotas, or the requirement of an economic needs test;
   3. the total number of service operations or the total quantity of services output expressed in terms of designated numerical units in the form of quotas, or the requirement of an economic needs test; or
   4. the total number of natural persons that may be employed in a particular sector or that an enterprise may employ and who are necessary for, and directly related to, the performance of economic activity in the form of numerical quotas, or the requirement of an economic needs test.
2. For greater certainty, a measure requiring a person to be a resident of, or have a commercial presence in, a Province in order to provide a service is not inconsistent with paragraph 1.

Article 308: Licensing and Qualification Requirements and Procedures

1. Each Party shall ensure that:
   1. licensing procedures and qualification procedures do not unduly complicate or delay the supply of a service;
   2. licensing procedures and qualification procedures used by a Party, and decisions of a Party in authorization and licensing processes, are impartial with respect to all applicants; and
   3. licences and authorizations shall be granted as soon as all relevant conditions have been met, and once granted, shall come into effect without undue delay, consistent with any terms and conditions applicable to the licence or authorization.
2. In an application process to obtain a licence or an authorization involving licensing procedures and licensing requirements or qualification procedures and qualification requirements, each Party shall ensure that:
   1. the processing of an application is:
      1. initiated without undue delay; and
      2. completed within a reasonable timeframe from the submission of a complete application, including the time to reach a final decision;
   2. if possible, applications are accepted in electronic format under similar conditions of authenticity as paper submissions. Authenticated copies should be accepted, if considered appropriate, in place of original documents;
   3. at the request of an applicant, information concerning the status of the application is provided without undue delay; and
   4. if it considers that an application is incomplete, the Party will, within a reasonable period of time, inform the applicant, identify the additional information required to complete the application, and provide the applicant with an opportunity to correct any deficiency with the application.
3. With respect to rejected applications for a licence or an authorization, each Party shall ensure that the applicant is:
   1. informed in writing and without undue delay of the rejection;
   2. on request, informed of the reasons for the rejection and of the timeframe for an appeal or review of the rejection, as required under paragraph 4; and
   3. permitted to submit a new application within a reasonable period of time.
4. Each Party shall maintain or institute judicial, arbitral, or administrative tribunals or procedures which provide, at the request of an affected investor or service supplier, for a prompt review of, and where justified, appropriate remedies for, administrative decisions affecting the supply of a service. If such procedures are not independent of the agency entrusted with the administrative decision concerned, each Party shall ensure that the procedures provide for an objective and impartial review.

Article 309: Electricity Transmission Service Providers and Trade in Electricity Transmission Services

Annex 309 sets out the obligations applicable to measures of transmission service providers and trade in transmission services, the manner in which those obligations will come into force, and special dispute resolution