ARCHIVED - Registry of the Competition Tribunal

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Minister's Message

The past year has been a challenging one for the Canadian economy, as it has been for the economies of all industrialized countries. The global economic crisis put the fiscal and economic frameworks of all countries to the test. But Canada entered the recession with solid fundamentals - balanced budgets, decreasing debt and taxes, a strong financial sector and robust economic policies. Consequently, Canada is in a comparatively good position to effectively respond to this time of economic challenge.

The Industry Portfolio played a significant role in developing Canada's resiliency and ability to weather the current crisis. Composed of 11 departments, agencies, Crown corporations and quasi-judicial bodies, the Portfolio includes major instruments in the Government of Canada's tool kit for building a competitive economy.

In 2008-09, such measures included continued support for the Registry of the Competition Tribunal, a strictly adjudicative body that operates independently of any government department and hears cases dealing with matters such as mergers, misleading advertising and restrictive trade practices.

In January 2009, the government introduced Canada's Economic Action Plan, which contained stimulative measures to respond to the global recession. Industry Portfolio members played, and will continue to play, a central role in developing and implementing a significant number of these critical initiatives. These measures range from programs to upgrade research infrastructure at Canada's universities and colleges, to helping small businesses bring innovative products to market, to supporting major tourism events, to enhancing community and recreational facilities and other municipal infrastructure in Ontario. For more information, visit the Canada's Economic Action Plan website.

As a country, we are emerging from the recession by creating a climate that encourages innovation, productivity and competitiveness - helping Canadian industry move to the forefront of the global knowledge economy. The Industry Portfolio members, and other federal departments and agencies are working in partnership so that Canada continues to enjoy a high standard of living and a prosperous future.

It is my pleasure to present the Registry of the Competition Tribunal's Performance Report for 2008-09.

The Honourable Tony Clement
Minister of Industry

Section I – Overview

Summary Information

Raison d’être

Responsibilities

The Registry of the Competition Tribunal is designated a department under the Financial Administration Act. It provides the administrative infrastructure to support the proper conduct of the business of the Competition Tribunal, supporting all aspects to the Tribunal’s work and ensuring the Tribunal can hold hearings anywhere in Canada, as necessary. The Registry and the Tribunal operate at arm’s length from government and its departments and were established by the Competition Tribunal Act. Registry headquarters are located in the National Capital Region. Parties to Tribunal cases file applications and documents with the Registry; the Registry also issues documents and orders for all cases brought before the Tribunal. This Departmental Performance Report pertains to the activities of the Registry in support of the Tribunal and its deliberations, and not to Tribunal cases themselves.

Since its creation in 1986, the Registry has provided support to the Tribunal in processing cases relating to mergers, abuse of dominant position and various trade practices that have involved key players in several industries. Cases have involved a number of business areas, including pharmacies; furniture stores; importers of cast iron pipes; airline computer reservation systems; oil refining and gasoline retailing; community newspapers; aspartame; waste disposal; car parts; marketing research services; green handling services; weight-loss products and fuel-saving devices.

 

Program Activity Architecture

Process Cases

The Registry of the Competition Tribunal’s main program activity is to process cases by providing the public with efficient access to case documents and decisions, as well as with efficient hearing support services.

The Tribunal hears cases and the Registry manages the material for the cases heard by the Tribunal under Part VII.1 (Deceptive Marketing Practices) and Part VIII (Reviewable Matters) of the Competition Act.

Internal Services

Internal Services is an umbrella term for activities under the Registry’s administration that meet program needs and other corporate obligations. These activities are: management and oversight services; communications services; legal services; human resources management services; financial management services; information management services; information technology services; real property services; material services; acquisition services; and travel and other administrative services.

Performance Summary

2008-09 Financial Resources ($ thousands)

Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
$1,699	$2,107	$1,691

 

2008-09 Human Resources (FTEs)

Planned	Actual	Difference
14 FTEs	11 FTEs	3 FTEs

The difference is mainly caused by staff turnover. As a micro-agency, the Registry can offer only limited development opportunities within its organization.

Strategic Outcome 1: Open, fair, transparent and expeditious hearings related to the Tribunal’s jurisdiction.

Performance Indicators	Targets	2008-09 Performance
Open, fair, transparent and expeditious hearings related to the Tribunal’s jurisdiction.	80% or more clients are satisfied with service received from the Registry	Based on feedback received through our website, 82% of respondents were satisfied with our services. From the questionnaires sent to the parties that have had their case heard during this fiscal year, more than 92% of clients are very satisfied with the service received from the Registry.

($ thousands)

Program Activity	2007-08 Actual Spending	2008-09				Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes
		Main Estimates	Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
Process Cases	$1,698	$1,328	$1,328	$1,628	$1,233	This program activity links to the Economic Affairs sector of activity of the Government of Canada, particularly the outcome area of a fair and secure marketplace.
Internal Services	N/A	$371	$371	$479	$470
Total	$1,698	$1,699	$1,699	$2,107	$1,691

 

Operational Priorities	Type	Status	Links to Strategic Outcome(s)
Improving Client Service	Previously committed to	Successfully met The feedback received from our internal and external clients has been very good  and shows that the Registry is meeting their expectations.	Open, fair, transparent and expdeditious hearings related to the Tribunal’s jurisdiction. The results obtained on this operational priority  is a good measure of the Registry’s main program activity of providing support services to process cases.
Modernizing technology and processes	New	Successfully met The introduction of digital recording of hearings will increase the accessibility of the public to the content of hearing room proceedings. The new Rules of Procedure request that the parties submit their documents electronically. This alleviates the requirements of the parties to submit multiple copies of documents.	Open, fair, transparent and expeditious hearings related to the Tribunal’s jurisdiction. Pursuing this priority contributed to the efficient access to case records as well as efficient hearing support services provided to the Tribunal and to the the parties.
Providing legal support to the Tribunal processes	New	Successfully met The new Rules of Procedure decrease the paper burden imposed on the parties appearing before the Tribunal. The communication strategies for the smooth implementation of the new Rules have been implemented. Implementation of the new Rules also included the training of Registry staff.	Open, fair, transparent and expeditious hearings related to the Tribunal’s jurisdiction. This priortiy fully supports the Registry’s program activity of processing cases by increasing the efficient submission and access to case records by the parties.

Contribution of Priorities to Strategic Outcome(s)

Management Priorities	Type	Status	Links to Strategic Outcome(s)
Improving Management Practices	Previously committed to	Successfully met Develop a partnership with the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Tribunal to share financial services and information technology services. The corporate risk profile of the organization has been reviewed and updated.	Open, fair, transparent and expeditious hearings related to the Tribunal’s jurisdiction. This managemt priorty is in full support of the internal services program activity. The partnership with the other tribunal ensures that both organizations have access to financial and information technology expertise. Public funds are maximized even in an environment of varying workload .
Focus on employee learning and development	Previously committed to	Successfully met Financial resources committed to employee learning were increased to provide more developmental opportunities to staff. All employees had an approved learning and development plan.	Open, fair, transparent and expeditious herings related to the Tribunal’s jurisdiction. This priority fully supports the internal services program activity of the Registry as well as the public service priority of developing and retaining our employees.

 

Risk Analysis

The Registry of the Competition Tribunal has a major planning challenge in that the Tribunal can only react to external demands. Its sole function is hearing references and applications and issuing orders, and the number of applications brought before the Tribunal depends on the enforcement policy adopted by the Commissioner of Competition and the number of applications filed by individuals or companies under the private access provisions of the Act.

With "Improving Client Service" being a key operational priority for the Registry it was important to look at alternatives to ensure an adequate level of resources would be available to process cases. A review of our organizational structure was initiated and a partnership was developed with the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Tribunal to provide additional capacity to be channelled in the processing of cases as necessary.

The demand for services from the Registry has remained relatively stable. The Registry has been allotted an increase in its reference level to effectively manage its existing workload, as well as the anticipated increase in cases generated from the additional jurisdiction given to the Tribunal in the 2009 federal budget.

The Registry has experienced a high turnover of staff in recent years and, as in any micro-agency, succession planning for specialized positions is an issue. To mitigate the impact of a sudden departure of an employee with unique responsibilities, a back-up strategy was developed and implemented for every position. Training was provided to some employees to ensure they had the knowledge and abilities required to fulfil their new responsibilities if and when required to take on additional workload. Other initiatives, such as more flexible working arrangements, a partnership with the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Tribunal Canada for job sharing and talent management, and integrating summer students on a part-time basis, have been actively pursued.

Expenditure Profile

(in thousands of dollars)	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09
Estimates	$1,686	$1,696	$1,699
Planned	$1,686	$1,696	$1,699
Authorized	$1,722	$1,911	$2,107
Actual	$1,701	$1,698	$1,691

The number of cases filed at the Tribunal has remained fairly stable over the last few years. To ensure the Registry can maintain its current level of service and in anticipation of additional cases due to an increase in the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, more resources were allocated to the Registry. Bill 10 – An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on January 27, 2009 and related fiscal measures introduced significant amendments to the Competition Act. Some po

rtions affect directly the work of the Competition Tribunal. For example, the administrative monetary penalties for deceptive marketing practices have been increased significantly. The possibility of restitution in cases of false or misleading representations to the public was introduced. The Act also repealed the criminal provisions dealing with price discrimination, predatory pricing and price maintenance. It introduced a new civil provision to address price maintenance practices that have an adverse effect on competition. These cases will now be heard by the Tribunal.

Voted and Statutory Items
($ thousands)

Vote # or Statutory Item (S)	Truncated Vote or Statutory Wording	2006-07 Actual Spending	2007-08 Actual Spending	2008-09 Main Estimates	2008-09 Actual Spending
1	Operating expenditures	$1,524	$1,537	$1,546	$1,566
(s)	Contributions to employee benefit plans	$177	$161	$153	$125
Total		$1,701	$1,698	$1,699	$1,691

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