Annual Report April 2008 – March 2009

2008/2009 Highlights

At the Annual Meeting in Vancouver in June 2008, Ministers: ƒ

• Approved revisions to complaint procedures under AIT Chapter Five (procurement);
• Approved revisions to clarify AIT Chapter Six (investment);
• Approved the AIT Eighth Protocol of Amendment to implement changes to Chapters Five and Six;
• Commenced negotiations on accession to the AIT by the Government of Nunavut;
• Endorsed a report from Labour Market Ministers on proposed changes to AIT Chapter Seven (labour mobility);
• Reached consensus on a new dispute resolution enforcement mechanism;
• Endorsed an action plan on regulatory reform in the transportation sector;
• Received progress reports on implementation of the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (Alberta/British Columbia) and on negotiations between Ontario/Quebec regarding an economic partnership agreement.

At an interim meeting in Ottawa in December 2008, Ministers: ƒ

• Approved text of a revised Chapter Seventeen (dispute resolution procedures) to strengthen enforcement of AIT panel rulings by means of a more effective compliance process, provision of an appeals process as well as imposition of monetary penalties and suspension of dispute resolution privileges; text to be incorporated into the Tenth Protocol of Amendment;
• Approved text of the Ninth Protocol of Amendment to revise Chapter Seven (labour mobility) which provides for full compliance with AIT by regulated occupations by April 2009;
• Directed officials to finalize a draft AIT Energy text for approval at June CIT 2009;
• Urged Agriculture Ministers to complete a revised Chapter on Agriculture in 2009;
• Received a further progress report on an economic partnership agreement between Quebec and Ontario;
• In January 2009 First Ministers issued a Declaration on the AIT which endorsed the new Chapters on Labour Mobility and Dispute Resolution Procedures.

In September 2008, the Annual General Meeting of the Internal Trade Secretariat Corporation was held via conference call. A meeting of the ITSC Board of Directors took place in March 2009.