ARCHIVED - Registry of the Competition Tribunal

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SECTION II: ANALYSIS OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES BY STRATEGIC OUTCOME

Strategic Outcome:

Open, fair, transparent and expeditious hearings related to the Tribunal's jurisdiction.

Program Activity Name:

Process Cases

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

The RCT provides the public with efficient access to case records and decisions by posting documents on the Tribunal's website expeditiously as a significant number of web users visit the Tribunal's website to perform searches on our case documents. The RCT also ensures the documents are processed within the prescribed time limits established in the Rules of procedure. The RCT responded to the increasing demand for electronic transmission of documents by investing in its electronic filing system and by providing a more secure medium to transfer documents regardless of their size and level of confidentiality.

Financial Resources

Planned Spending	Authorities	Actual Spending
$1,536	$1,750	$1,537

Human Resources

Planned	Actual	Difference
14 FTE	14 FTE	0

Number of proceedings :

Statistics	2006-2007	2007-2008
Number of proceedings filed	12	8
Number of proceedings completed	14	10
Number of proceedings filed from previous year and still on-going	6	4
Number of decisions rendered	35	28

The RCT does not have any control over the number of proceedings filed. It can only react to the number of applications filed by the parties. There has been a small decrease in the number of filings in 2007-08 compared to 2006-07 but overall there were no major fluctuations between the two years. The four (4) proceedings filed from previous year and still on-going shown in 2007-08 were filed in the latter part the fiscal year and will most likely be completed in 2008-09.

Expected Results

• High quality Registry services providing the public efficient access to case records and decisions.

An analysis of the web survey shows that 60% of the users visit the website to perform searches on case documents making it increasingly important for the RCT to post case documents on the website in a timely manner.

The established service standard respecting the postings of documents and the publication of notices on the website for the Registry is that they should be posted within 48 hours of filing, with proof of service as required, 90% of the time. This goal was achieved 90.5% of the time even with an increase of 10% in the number of documents posted on the website. Another service standard is that notices are to be published in the Canada Gazette and/or newspapers within 10 days of filing the Notice of Application for the applicable cases. This cannot apply this year as no applicable case was filed

• Processing of documents according to timeframes established in the Rules of Procedure.

During 2007-2008, the RCT has provided efficient case processing and hearing services to the Tribunal and litigants while adjusting to a case management system that was implemented in the previous fiscal year. This system has helped improve the management of documents and the preparation of members' bench books. All documents were processed within the timeframe established in the Rules of procedure.

The Legal Section completed its major initiative of revising the Rules of procedure of the Tribunal in order to streamline the various proceedings before the Tribunal. On May 26, 2007, the new Rules were pre-published in Part I of the Canada Gazette. Stakeholders were invited to send written comments to the Tribunal's Registrar and written submissions were received. These suggestions as well as responding comments were carefully studied and the new Rules were modified to incorporate some of the suggestions received. The new Competition Tribunal Rules were published in Part II of the Canada Gazette on May 14, 2008 and came into effect that same day.

The Legal Section worked with Tribunal members and registry staff to ensure a smooth implementation of the new Rules. Training sessions were given to Tribunal members and registry staff who respond to enquiries from the public. Information about the new Rules, along with a link to the new Rules, was posted on the Competition Tribunal website and an information bulletin was sent to Tribunal website subscribers.

The new Rules take into account the evolution of technology such as e-filing, the changes in procedure brought about by amendments to the Competition Act, and the experience of the Competition Tribunal as an expert tribunal for civil competition matters.

• Access to efficient management of electronic hearings of applications.

The RCT's secure channel web-based electronic filing application permits parties to file documents securely and is used in conjunction with email filings with attachments. Although email filings are preferred by the Tribunal's clients because of their convenience, the number of documents filed through the electronic filing system of the website has increased by over 100 % this fiscal year. Counsel for parties are more aware of its secure features and its much larger size limitation compared to regular emails. The website e-filing application is often the preferred medium for large documents or when confidentiality is an issue. The increased usage of the electronic filing application confirms that it is increasingly seen as an efficient tool for the secure filing of documents. Feedback received through the web survey is very positive. The majority of the documents received by the RCT are now received by electronic transmission. Only 5 to 10% are still received by fax or by paper copy. The paper copies, when required, are often forwarded to the Registry following their electronic filing.

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