Government Operations committee  That's right.

Government Operations committee  Not at the level of the members of the tribunal. Because we are an independent, quasi-judicial body, we operate within the confines of the Canadian legislation.

Government Operations committee  As I said earlier, our responsibilities are defined by statute. Those will not change in any way. The purpose of the tribunal's procurement mandate is, as I said, to ensure that procurements are conducted in a fair, open, and transparent manner. I imagine that the new body will have a similar mandate.

Government Operations committee  That's the agreement on internal trade.

Government Operations committee  Yes.

Government Operations committee  Again, I cannot speak for government policy, but the CITT has been involved in procurement review for over 18 years, so we were a body that was already in existence with experience.

Government Operations committee  As I said, I think the focus for procurement disputes for the federal government is the CITT, whether it's under the AIT or the international trade agreements. Then the AIT may have other provisions relating to violations of the other non-procurement provisions of the AIT.

Government Operations committee  Yes.

Government Operations committee  Do you mind if my colleague answers?

Government Operations committee  I'm talking about NAFTA and the WTO agreement.

Government Operations committee  My colleague tells me that's under the free trade agreements?

Government Operations committee  No.

Government Operations committee  As I said, we usually receive a complaint in writing. The members of the tribunal decide whether or not to accept the complaint for investigation purposes. That's the first step. If we decide to investigate, we send a copy of the complaint to the department concerned. The department then sends us its version of the events in writing, and the reason why, in its view, there was no violation of the agreements.

Government Operations committee  Yes.

Government Operations committee  No. I'll put the question to my colleagues and—