Highlights

  • The Canadian Chicken Marketing Levies Order has been amended to adjust the levy rate for chicken producers in Nova Scotia.
  • New Copyright Board Rules of Practice and Procedure have been established to improve the tariff-setting process for collective societies in Canada.
  • Chile has completed the ratification of the CPTPP, leading Canada to extend its tariff commitments to Chile under the agreement.
  • A new directive to the CRTC focuses on promoting competition, affordability, consumer interests, and innovation in Canadian telecommunications.
  • An amendment to the Domestic Substances List includes a new substance used in cosmetics, with Significant New Activity provisions due to potential health concerns.
  • The schedule to the Expungement of Historically Unjust Convictions Act has been expanded to include additional offenses, allowing for the expungement of related convictions.
  • The Manitoba Fishery Regulations, 1987, have been amended to support sustainable recreational fishing and align with Manitoba’s Recreational Angling Strategy.
  • The Special Economic Measures (Haiti) Regulations have been amended to impose sanctions on two Haitian nationals for corruption and supporting criminal gangs.
  • The Special Import Measures Regulations have been amended to address non-market economy conditions in Russia and Belarus, allowing for more effective application of anti-dumping duties.

New Levy Rate for Nova Scotia Chicken Producers Approved by CFC

Chicken Farmers of Canada (CFC) has amended the Canadian Chicken Marketing Levies Order to adjust the levy rate for chicken producers in Nova Scotia. The new levy rate is set at 1.57 cents for those engaged in marketing chicken in interprovincial or export trade. This change is made under the authority of the Farm Products Agencies Act and the Chicken Farmers of Canada Proclamation. The National Farm Products Council has approved the amendment, confirming its necessity for the implementation of CFC’s marketing plan. The amendment comes into force on February 12, 2023, or on the registration day if registered after this date. [Source]

The Copyright Board of Canada has established new Copyright Board Rules of Practice and Procedure to streamline and standardize its tariff-setting processes. These rules apply to matters related to proposed tariffs filed by collective societies and applications to fix royalty rates. They aim to enhance fairness, participation, and efficiency in proceedings, and include provisions for calculating time limits, filing and service of documents, and language requirements.

Collective societies must now provide a notice of grounds for their proposed tariffs, and objectors are required to file a notice of grounds for objection with more detailed information. The rules also introduce a requirement for a joint statement of issues to be considered within 90 days of the commencement of proceedings, or as ordered by the Board. If parties cannot agree on a joint statement, they must file separate statements outlining their positions.

Case management is emphasized, with the Board having the authority to issue binding orders on procedural matters. The rules also specify the electronic filing of documents, treatment of confidential information, and conditions for using expert witness evidence. Non-party participation is clarified, allowing interested persons to request leave to intervene or to file letters of comment.

The rules apply to all relevant proceedings, including those already commenced, and do not invalidate actions taken before their implementation. The Board will provide templates and organize information sessions to assist parties in adapting to the new requirements. Compliance is expected, with the Board’s registry staff available for guidance. Performance will be reported to Parliament, and the Board’s decisions can be enforced as orders of the Federal Court or any superior court. [Source]

Canada Extends CPTPP Tariff Benefits to Chile Starting February 2023

Chile has completed its domestic implementation and ratification of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which will take effect for the country on February 21, 2023. Consequently, Canada is required to extend its tariff commitments under the CPTPP to Chile. The CPTPP was signed by Canada and ten other Asia-Pacific countries and has been progressively entering into force for these countries since December 30, 2018.

To fulfill this obligation, the Order Amending the Schedule to the Customs Tariff (Extension of a CPTPP Tariff to Chile) amends the Customs Tariff to include Chile in the list of countries eligible for CPTPP preferential tariff treatment. This amendment is a technical and consequential step that implements the negotiated outcomes of the CPTPP, and no public consultations were deemed necessary due to the non-controversial nature of the Order and previous extensive consultations on the CPTPP.

The extension of preferential tariffs to Chile is expected to benefit Canadian importers by allowing them to claim lower customs duties on goods originating from Chile. The overall economic gains for Canada from the CPTPP, once fully implemented by all signatories, are projected to be $4.2 billion by 2040, with significant benefits for various Canadian industries.

The Order does not introduce new administrative burdens or compliance costs for businesses, including small businesses, and is aligned with Canada’s negotiated commitments in the CPTPP. It is not expected to have any differential impacts on Indigenous people or implications for modern treaties. The Order is necessary to comply with Canada’s obligations under the CPTPP and to avoid violating the Agreement once it enters into force for Chile.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will oversee compliance and update its systems to reflect the changes brought by the Order, which is set to come into force on February 21, 2023. [Source]

New Canadian Directive to CRTC Emphasizes Competition, Affordability, and Consumer Rights in Telecommunications

The Canadian government has issued a new directive to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to guide the implementation of the Canadian telecommunications policy objectives. This directive replaces two previous orders from 2006 and 2019 and aims to address changes in the telecommunications market and its regulation.

The directive instructs the CRTC to focus on promoting competition, affordability, consumer interests, and innovation in its decisions. It emphasizes the importance of encouraging all forms of competition and investment, fostering affordability, ensuring access to high-quality services across all regions, enhancing consumer rights, reducing barriers to market entry for new and smaller providers, enabling innovation, and stimulating investment in research and development.

The directive outlines principles for effective regulation, including transparency, predictability, coherence, efficiency, proportionality, and timely decision-making. It also stresses the need for the CRTC to base its decisions on sound and recent evidence and to develop strong market monitoring and strategic foresight skills.

For fixed Internet competition, the directive mandates the CRTC to maintain a regulatory framework for wholesale services, monitor its effectiveness, and make necessary adjustments. It requires the provision of an aggregated wholesale high-speed access service alongside other types, a variety of access speeds including low-cost options, expedient tariff setting, and equitable application of the regulatory framework.

In mobile wireless competition, the CRTC must maintain a framework for wholesale roaming services and assess its approach to a mandated wholesale facilities-based mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) access service. The directive allows for adjustments to this approach and periodic reviews to ensure effectiveness and address factors that could harm competition.

The directive also focuses on consumer rights, instructing the CRTC to enhance and protect these rights by strengthening the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS), protecting consumers from unacceptable sales practices, promoting pricing clarity, ensuring easy service changes for consumers, and improving accessibility for persons with disabilities. It also calls for regular collection and public reporting of information on mobile wireless coverage and fixed Internet service quality.

To support deployment and universal access, the directive encourages the CRTC to continue measures to achieve universal access to high-quality fixed Internet and mobile wireless services. It suggests prioritizing funding for mobile services and operating costs in underserved areas and improving access to support structures for network deployment.

The directive is binding on the CRTC from the date of its registration and applies to matters pending before the commission on that date. It repeals the two previous orders from 2006 and 2019.

The directive aims to provide regulatory certainty for the telecommunications industry, fostering a competitive market that benefits consumers with lower prices and better services. It also seeks to ensure that the CRTC’s regulatory framework is clear, efficient, and effective in promoting the government’s telecommunications policy objectives. [Source]

Canada Adds New Cosmetic Substance to DSL with SNAc Provisions

The Canadian Minister of the Environment has issued an amendment to the Domestic Substances List (DSL) to include a new substance, identified by the Confidential Accession Number (CAN) 19501-9, which is an alkanoic acid used in cosmetics. This amendment, under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA), follows the assessment of the substance and the expiration of the assessment period without any imposed conditions.

Significant New Activity (SNAc) provisions are maintained for this substance due to potential human health concerns identified in the risk assessment, particularly regarding its use in cosmetics. These provisions require any person intending to use, import, or manufacture the substance for a significant new activity to notify the Minister at least 90 days in advance and provide detailed information for further assessment.

The SNAc requirements apply to the use of the substance in cosmetics with a concentration equal to or greater than 0.1% by weight, and to the importation of the substance in quantities of 10 kg or more per calendar year. There is a transitional period until July 8, 2023, during which the threshold for notification is 1,000 kg or more.

Exemptions from the notification requirements include uses regulated under other Acts of Parliament, as well as uses as a research and development substance, site-limited intermediate substances, or for export-only products.

The Order does not impose any new regulatory requirements on current activities and is not expected to have any impact on small businesses or trigger the one-for-one rule. It aligns with no international obligations and does not require a strategic environmental assessment or gender-based analysis plus (GBA+). Compliance with the Order will be enforced according to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act: compliance and enforcement policy. [Source]

Canada Expands Expungement Act to Include More Historically Unjust Convictions

The Canadian government has amended the schedule to the Expungement of Historically Unjust Convictions Act to include additional offences that are no longer considered criminal acts and are recognized as historical injustices. The amendment adds offences related to common bawdy-houses, indecent acts, public exhibition of indecent materials or shows, immoral performances in theatres, nudity, procuring a miscarriage, and providing means for preventing conception or causing an abortion. The changes acknowledge that the criminalization of these activities was unjust and allow for the expungement of convictions related to these offences. The amendment also covers equivalent offences under the National Defence Act. The Order comes into force on the day it is registered. [Source]

Canadian Government Revises Manitoba Fishery Regulations to Support Sustainable Recreational Fishing

The Canadian government has amended the Manitoba Fishery Regulations, 1987, to support the implementation of Manitoba’s Recreational Angling Strategy. The changes include:

  1. Adjusting the definition of “resident of Manitoba” to align with other provincial regulations, requiring a person to have lived in Manitoba for at least 6 consecutive months in the past 12 months and have their primary residence in the province.

  2. Allowing recreational anglers to carry their fishing license electronically and removing the requirement for the license to be signed.

  3. Modifying daily quotas, possession quotas, and size limits for certain fish species to enhance fish population protection and ensure the sustainability of recreational fishing. Notably, the limits for lake trout, lake whitefish, northern pike, walleye, sauger, and white bass have been reduced, and size limits have been added or adjusted for several species, including black crappie, burbot, and freshwater drum.

  4. Enabling year-round recreational fishing for most species in most waterbodies, with specific close times during spawning for walleye, sauger, lake trout, and lake sturgeon in certain divisions. Some areas will be closed to all angling in early spring to protect spawning fish.

  5. Updating the list of waters stocked with trout and the list of fish species that can be caught using non-angling methods, such as dip nets, seine nets, and minnow traps, to protect stocked trout waters and align with current fisheries management practices.

  6. Requiring ice fishing shelters to be marked with identifying information only when left unattended and mandating their earlier removal in parts of southern Manitoba to improve safety due to earlier ice breakup.

  7. Prohibiting the spoilage and waste of any caught fish, removing a previous exemption for rough fish.

  8. Aligning commercial fishing quotas and close times with current provincial practices and adding conversion factors for filleted lake trout and northern pike.

The changes are expected to have minimal costs and are not anticipated to impact Indigenous rights-based fishing. The Manitoba government will communicate these changes through various channels, including an annual Anglers’ Guide, and will enforce the new rules through existing processes. The amendments aim to balance the enhancement of recreational angling opportunities with the need to protect fish populations for long-term sustainability. [Source]

Canada Expands Expungement Act to Include Unjust 2SLGBTQI+ and Abortion Convictions

The Canadian government has established an order to allow for the expungement of historically unjust convictions related to certain offenses, recognizing that past laws unjustly targeted the 2SLGBTQI+ communities and criminalized abortion. The Expungement of Historically Unjust Convictions Act now includes offenses related to bawdy houses (venues for consensual sexual activities not involving prostitution), indecency-based offenses, and abortion-related offenses.

Criteria for expungement have been set to ensure that only convictions for activities that are no longer criminal can be expunged. For bawdy house and indecency-based offenses, applicants must demonstrate that the conviction was related to a venue used for consensual sexual activities without monetary exchange for sexual services. For abortion-related offenses, criteria vary depending on the role of the convicted person, but generally require evidence of consent from the woman who had the abortion or that the convicted person was acting at her request.

The orders are expected to have a positive impact on those with unjust convictions by removing barriers imposed by criminal records and recognizing the discriminatory nature of the historical laws. The expungement process is managed by the Parole Board of Canada, and there is no fee for submitting an application, although applicants may incur costs for obtaining necessary documentation. The orders are anticipated to be relieving for affected stakeholders and are not expected to have costs for the general public. The implementation of these orders is estimated to cost around $1.19 million over two years, mainly due to processing by the Parole Board of Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The orders are also expected to enhance the personal well-being of the 2SLGBTQI+ community and reflect Canada’s inclusive values. [Source]

Canada Imposes Sanctions on Haitian Nationals for Corruption and Gang Support

The Canadian government has amended the Special Economic Measures (Haiti) Regulations to impose sanctions on two additional Haitian nationals identified as Jocelerme Privert and Salim Succar. These individuals are believed to be part of Haiti’s economic and political elite and are accused of engaging in significant acts of corruption and supporting criminal gangs through activities such as drug smuggling. The sanctions include a broad dealings ban, making these individuals inadmissible to Canada, and prohibiting any transactions with them by individuals or entities in Canada, as well as by Canadians abroad.

The amendments are a response to the severe humanitarian crisis in Haiti, exacerbated by the actions of criminal gangs that operate with the support of political elites. These gangs are responsible for widespread violence, including killings, injuries, and sexual violence, which contribute to the country’s instability and humanitarian issues, such as the resurgence of cholera and widespread hunger.

The sanctions are part of Canada’s broader strategy to address the crisis in Haiti, which includes working with the international community to support Haitian authorities in restoring law and order. The measures are aligned with actions taken by Canada’s allies and are intended to pressure those supporting violence to change their behavior.

The regulatory amendments are expected to have minimal impact on Canadian businesses and small businesses, as it is unlikely they have dealings with the targeted individuals. The sanctions are enforced by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canada Border Services Agency, with penalties for non-compliance ranging from fines to imprisonment. [Source]

Canada Amends Import Regulations to Counter Non-Market Economy Practices in Russia and Belarus

The Canadian government has amended the Special Import Measures Regulations to address non-market economy conditions in Russia and Belarus. These amendments allow the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to apply anti-dumping duties more effectively by reducing the burden of proof required to use non-market economy methodologies when calculating margins of dumping for goods from these countries. Previously, the CBSA had limited flexibility in considering whether goods from Russia and Belarus were produced under non-market conditions, potentially resulting in anti-dumping duties that did not fully reflect the extent of dumping.

The amendments specifically add Russia and Belarus to a list of countries in the regulations where only one condition needs to be met to apply a non-market economy calculation. This condition is that domestic prices are substantially determined by the government and not by market competition. This change is in response to evidence of significant government intervention and price distortions in the economies of Russia and Belarus, as reported by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the European Commission, and the CBSA.

The U.S. has designated Russia as a non-market economy due to increased government control over the economy, prices, and a deterioration in workers’ rights and freedom of information. The European Commission also reported substantial state interference in Russia’s economy. Belarus has been subject to Canadian anti-dumping duties since April 2017, and the U.S. Department of Commerce has recognized Belarus as a non-market economy due to its lack of market principles.

The regulatory changes are not expected to significantly impact Canadian businesses, consumers, or the government, as imports from Russia and Belarus subject to anti-dumping duties are minimal. However, the amendments will allow for more accurate anti-dumping measures, providing better protection for Canadian producers against unfairly traded imports and aligning Canada’s practices with those of the U.S. and the European Union. The regulations are exempt from prepublication as the views of major stakeholders are already known, and recent trade measures against Russia and Belarus have already reduced imports from these countries.

The amendments will not affect Indigenous rights, small businesses, or the environment, and no gender-based analysis plus impacts have been identified. The regulations will come into force on the day they are registered, and no significant procedural changes for the CBSA or the Canadian International Trade Tribunal are anticipated. [Source]

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