Government Operations Committee on May 17th, 2007

[Elaine Feldman]

Yes, it was, but unlike the WTO agreements, which apply to all WTO members--and I think they are now in the order of 150 members--a country has to decide that it wants to become a party to the agreement on government procurement. So there are significantly fewer than 150 members. If you count the EU as one, you might say it's in the order of 25. If you count the EU as 25, then maybe there are close to—

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

Okay, that's fine. What I'm trying to zero in on here is if a company from a country that is a member of WTO is not a member of the multilateral agreement on procurement, does it have any standing in your—

[Elaine Feldman]

No.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

So it's not actually the WTO. You had said it was the WTO agreement on government procurement that is the basis of your operation, but it sounds to me as though it's actually the multilateral agreement that—

[Elaine Feldman]

Well, the agreement on government procurement is under the auspices of the WTO.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

I just need to get this point here.

[Elaine Feldman]

It is a WTO agreement. It just does not cover the entire membership. You have to decide to be a member of the agreement on government procurement.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

Okay, but is there a difference between the agreement on government procurement and the multilateral agreement on government procurement? Is it the same thing?

[Elaine Feldman]

Yes, it's the same thing.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

So that's all we need to know, then. If countries have opted into that agreement, then they're covered?

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Daryl Kramp]

Mr. Poilievre, that's the end of your questioning.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

Okay, thank you.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Daryl Kramp]

Now it will be Madame Bourgeois.

[Diane Bourgeois, Bloc, Terrebonne—Blainville, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to go back to the handling of complaints.

Of course, there are big businesses in Canada, but, if the government decides to open its market to small ones, we absolutely have to know whether they are protected from the government, certain departments or problems that may arise. If I understood correctly, the complainant has 10 days to file its complaint, after which you go to see the department concerned with that complaint.

[Elaine Feldman]

No, not quite. On the basis of what we've sent the complainant, we decide first whether we can say there is a problem. If we decide there is one, we send the complaint to the department involved. If we decide there isn't one, if the 10 days have elapsed, or if the complaint comes from someone who cannot appear before the tribunal, we reject it at that stage.

[Diane Bourgeois, Bloc, Terrebonne—Blainville, QC]

That applies if the complaint is filed within 10 days. You'll correct me if I'm wrong, but 10 days is a very brief period of time for an aggrieved business. Very often, it takes a long time before the bids are opened, unless the business is on the spot. Large businesses can be on site when the bids are opened. Very often, however, that's not the case for small businesses.

[Elaine Feldman]

It's 10 days after they've learned that they haven't won the contract.

[Diane Bourgeois, Bloc, Terrebonne—Blainville, QC]

A small business whose representative may have had to go to China may know a week after the bids are opened that it wasn't selected. Then it has 10 days to file a complaint.

Approximately how much does it cost a business to defend itself? Do you have any figures?

[Elaine Feldman]

You can come with or without a lawyer. Since there's usually no hearing, and the process involves submitting documents, it's hard to state a specific amount.

[Diane Bourgeois, Bloc, Terrebonne—Blainville, QC]

All right.

I'm going to you a specific example: the bicycle industry. Perhaps you can't talk to me about that. I don't know; I'm not sure. We had restrictions.

[Elaine Feldman]

That wasn't a public market case. Bicycles was something else entirely.

[Diane Bourgeois, Bloc, Terrebonne—Blainville, QC]

All right.

How many complaints are you handling right now?

[Elaine Feldman]

In the public market?

[Diane Bourgeois, Bloc, Terrebonne—Blainville, QC]

Yes, in the Canadian public market, how many complaints are you handling?

[Randy Heggart]

There are approximately 12.