Government Operations committee  Any time, apparently.

Government Operations committee  Even before there is a dispute.

Government Operations committee  I understand that an exception has been invoked generally for bid categories. Therefore, any call for tenders that falls within this category, according to the government, would not be subject to review by the tribunal.

Government Operations committee  Certainly, there will be cases where—

Government Operations committee  In terms of a solution or way of dealing with this issue, I think the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act does not at all cover the national security exception. If a mechanism is needed to address the issue, the act may need to be amended and set out that the government ma

Government Operations committee  If I may, there is no definition. It is a concept that we find in other trade agreements, and my understanding is that there have been some arbitral decisions internationally about this concept. For example, in Argentina, in the early 2000s, there was a very severe economic crisi

Government Operations committee  If I may add, I agree with what has just been said. In fact, from my perspective, what's more important is to have a neutral review process when this is invoked, not perhaps trying to limit, in advance, the category of situations that might come under the exception.

Government Operations committee  Perhaps I didn't express myself properly. In my opinion, the jurisdiction that is otherwise conferred on courts and tribunals cannot generally be removed. The Canadian International Trade Tribunal has been given jurisdiction over certain categories of bids, and that seems to me t

Government Operations committee  A general rule of civil procedure provides that a personal interest is required in order to bring legal action. There are certain exceptions, but generally speaking, in a bidding process, an individual has no personal interest that would allow that person to sue.

Government Operations committee  That's right, yes.

Government Operations committee  No, the affected people, that is, the affected companies, can do so.

Government Operations committee  That isn't what I said. I said that the fact that the government wants to prevent companies from exercising this legitimate right before the competent courts is problematic because it is a right generally recognized in our legal system. When personal rights are adversely affecte

Government Operations committee  The Canadian International Trade Tribunal, yes.

Government Operations committee  Meaning, there are two things. First of all, the tribunal has a statutory jurisdiction, including contracts under the Agreement on Internal Trade, NAFTA and other agreements. It is quite complex. My colleague here would be in a better position to describe it. That's one thing. T

Government Operations committee  I think the recent decision of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal is a positive development in the sense that it says the government has to prove exactly why it thinks that there is a risk to national security if, for example, we allow judicial review of a particular procu