Annual Report April 2003 – March 2004

Highlights of the Year in Review

In 2003/2004, the Parties to the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) continued their efforts to fully implement the Agreement by pursuing the negotiations mandated by the Agreement and completing the outstanding obligations in the Agreement. The highlights of their work are as follows.

A review of Chapter Five (Procurement) was launched in May 2003 and initiated an examination of eight priority areas including the issues of threshold levels, the current exclusions to the application of the procurement rules of the AIT, and how best to increase the access of suppliers to public procurement opportunities through a single point of access on the internet.

Work continued under Chapter Seven (Labour Mobility) to enhance labour mobility within Canada for members of the regulated occupations. This work included:

• a determination of which occupations have an unresolved issue with respect to foreign credentials recognition within the mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) established to date under Chapter Seven for each regulated occupation;
• a review of the Quebec approach to assessing worker competence relative to the approach used by other jurisdictions based on a common exam; and
• a major redevelopment of the Work Destinations Website which provides information to workers on licensing, certification and registration requirements for different occupations across Canada;

The Parties engaged in numerous activities in pursuit of the objectives of Chapter Eight (Consumer-Related Measures and Standards). Among these were:

• the development of the Canadian Code of Practice for Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce which sets minimum standards for business practices in electronic commerce;
• the development of options for the protection of consumers in cross-border transactions and for improving consumer protection in the small, short-term loan marketplace;
• publication of the “Reality Choices” information booklets for consumers aged 18 to 30 years as well as the Consumer Handbook 2004;
• the initiation of development of the Identity Theft Consumer Information Kit which will help consumers reduce their risk of identity theft; and
• the start of work to address emerging consumer protection gaps in the air travel marketplace.

This year saw the establishment under Chapter Ten (Alcoholic Beverages) of an industry led National Wine Standards Committee to continue the work of developing wine standards and to make recommendations on respective enforcement policies and procedures.

As part of the work under Chapter Fourteen (Transportation) to bring about greater regulatory compatibility, Parties made preparations for the implementation of the Hours of Service Regulations and the Load Securement Regulations agreed to under the National Safety Code Standards. They also commenced a review of the Canadian Driver Licence Compact.

Under Chapter Seventeen (Dispute Resolution Procedures), there was further refinement of the Operational Details for the dispute procedures under the chapter. Also, a dispute concerning the disclosure of the cost of credit proceeded through the stages of the dispute process under the Chapter and ultimately went before a panel established to examine the matter.

In addition, the Council of the Federation approved in February 2004 an Internal Trade Workplan setting out fifteen initiatives to improve the Agreement on Internal Trade. The work undertaken by the provinces and territories to implement the workplan and the subsequent engagement of the federal government, the only Party to the AIT that is not a member of the Council of the Federation, will be outlined in next year’s annual report.

In 2003/2004, 27 disputes were formally initiated using the dispute settlement mechanisms provided for under the Agreement. By year end, 25 of the disputes initiated in 2003/2004 had been addressed and 2 were pending. In total, 213 disputes have been filed between the time the AIT came into force in July 1995 and the end of this reporting period, of which 189 have been resolved, 10 have been withdrawn or are inactive, and 14 are pending.

The following sections of this report provide details of the above and other activities undertaken under the AIT during the period 2003/2004.