By-Law for dealing with complaints received by the FPCC

By-law governing the administration of the complaints received by the farm products council of Canada As amended on February 10, 2021

 

The Council, pursuant to paragraph 7(1)(f) and 12(b) of the Farm Products Agencies Act R.S.C., 1985, c. F-4, hereby makes the following By-Law governing the administration of the Complaints received by the Farm Products Council of Canada (FPCC).

Short title

1 This By-Law may be referred to as the Complaint By-Law.

Interpretation

2 The following definitions apply in this By-Law:

"Act" means the Farm Products Agencies Act.

"Additional Document" means any additional document filed by a Party or Intervener in accordance with section 23 of this By-Law and includes any document or information requested by the Complaint Committee.

"Advisory Personnel" means Farm Products Council of Canada (FPCC) employees. Depending on the nature of the Complaint, this may include the Director of Regulatory and Sectoral Affairs, the Manager of Policy Analysis, a senior commodity advisor or a policy analyst and any other staff of the FPCC and legal counsel.

"Agency" means any agency created under the Act.

"Business Day" means 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday, Eastern Standard Time (EST), excluding statutory holidays.

"Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Farm Products Council of Canada (FPCC) or any such person authorized to perform the duties of the Chairperson of FPCC.

"Complainant" means a Person who has an interest or is directly affected by the operations of an agency and who files a Complaint.

"Complaint" means a complaint filed with the Registrar of the FPCC as per paragraph 7(1)(f) of the Act and sections 8 and 10 of this By-Law.

"Complaint Committee" means the committee established by the Chairperson, consisting of one or more Council members, to perform the duties of the Council pursuant to paragraph 7(1)(f) of the Act, and to report its findings and recommendations to the Council.

"Confidentiality Measures" means any measures, as determined necessary and appropriate by the Chairperson or the Complaint Committee, to prevent public disclosure of any Document or portion thereof filed by any Party or Intervener with the Registrar, and includes such measures as partial or complete redaction, or non-disclosure of a Document.

"Council" means the Farm Products Council of Canada (FPCC).

"Council Member" means a member of the Council.

"Document" means any document filed with the Registrar by a Party in support of its position.

"Evidence" means information presented as proof of the facts in issue of the Complaint and which may include the testimony of witnesses, records, documents, or objects.

"Expert Witness" is a witness qualified to provide opinion evidence on the subject matter that is within the expert’s area of expertise and to provide such additional assistance as the Complaint Committee may reasonably require to determine the issue of the Complaint.

"Hearing" means a Proceeding conducted in-person, by teleconference or by videoconference, before the Complaint Committee.

"Intervener" means a Person who is not a Party to a Complaint and who is permitted to intervene in a Proceeding in such a way as determined by the Complaint Committee.

"Notice Date" means the date on which a notice is sent by the Registrar under sections 11 and 19 of this By-Law.

"Observer" means a Person who is not a Party or an Intervener to a Complaint and who is permitted to observe the hearing in such a way as determined by the Complaint Committee.

"Official Record of the Complaint" consists of all the documents filed with the Registrar, the Complaint Committee’s report, and the Council’s decision.

"Party" means the Complainant or the Respondent Agency.

"Person" means an individual, an organization, a corporation, or any other type of legal entity and includes any group of Persons.

"Proceeding" means any proceeding before the Complaint Committee.

"Registrar" means an employee of the Council who is designated by the Deputy Head of Council to act as the administrative official in charge of maintaining the Official Record of the Complaint during the process. The Registrar serves as liaison officer between the Parties, Interveners, Observers, Advisory Personnel, and the Complaint Committee to coordinate procedures and communications during the Complaint process and to answer any procedural questions that may arise.

"Respondent Agency" means an Agency, the operations of which are subject of a Complaint.

Application

3 This By-Law applies to Complaints filed with the Registrar on or after February 20, 2021.

Purpose

4 This By-Law aims to ensure that:

• all Parties and Interveners to a Complaint have the fullest opportunity to participate and present their arguments;
• the arguments are presented, and the evidence is disclosed, in a timely, transparent, and efficient manner; and
• all proceedings before the Complaint Committee are conducted in a fair, predictable, cost effective manner, and as expeditiously as possible.

Liberal Interpretation

5 (1) This By-Law shall receive such fair and liberal interpretation as will best advance the objectives set out in section 4 of this By-Law.

(2) Where matters are not provided for in this By-Law, the practice shall be determined by the Chairperson prior to the formation of the Complaint Committee or by the Complaint Committee once it has been formed.

Alternate Dispute Resolution

6 (1) At all times, the Parties are encouraged to resort to alternate dispute resolution to resolve any disputes amongst themselves.

(2) At any moment during the Proceeding, the Parties may request the Chairperson or the Complaint Committee, as the case may be, to stay the Proceeding in order to resort to alternate dispute resolution. Once the stay of Proceeding is granted, any delays stipulated under this By-Law are suspended. The Parties must inform the Chairperson or the Complaint Committee, as the case may be, of the outcome of alternate dispute resolution as soon as possible.

(3) The fact that the Parties resort to alternate dispute resolution does not limit Council’s oversight duty and authority.

Computation and Amendment of Delays

7 (1) In computing any time delay stipulated in this By-Law, the day that marks the start of the delay is not counted, but the terminal day is counted.

(2) All delays stipulated in this By-Law are peremptory, unless the Chairperson or the Complaint Committee grants an extension or an abridgment of the delay where just and reasonable.

Administration of a Complaint

8 (1) The Complaint and Response to the Complaint must be filed with the Registrar by email not exceeding 10 Mb at the following email address: aafc.fpcccomplaints-plaintescpac.aac@agr.gc.ca.

(2) The Registrar shall file all Documents received, including correspondence, in the Official Record of the Complaint.

(3) Subject to any Confidentiality Measures, the Registrar shall post all Documents received, including correspondence on the Council’s website, and forward a copy of any Document received to the contact Person of each other Party and Intervener.

(4) The comments or questions of the Parties, Interveners and Observers on the Complaint shall be transmitted electronically to the Registrar.

(5) The Parties and Interveners are allowed to participate in the Complaint process in the official language of their choice. As such, all Documents and Additional Documents that are filed with the Registrar shall be in either English or French. However, the Council is not responsible for translation of the Documents and Additional Documents.

(6) When required, interpretation services in both official languages will be provided by Council. The Registrar will confirm with Parties and Interveners whether interpretation services are required during the Proceeding.

(7) The Registrar shall, subject to the direction of the Chairperson or the Complaint Committee, make all arrangements necessary to ensure an orderly and efficient conduct of the Proceeding.

Discontinuance

9 The Complainant may discontinue the Complaint at any time by providing a notice in writing to the Registrar.

Filing a Complaint

10 (1) Any Complainant may file a Complaint with Council.

(2) The Complaint must include the following information:

• the specific operations of the Respondent Agency that is the subject of the Complaint;
• an explanation of how the Complainant has an interest or is being directly affected by the operations of the Respondent Agency;
• a concise statement of the grounds and rationale for the Complaint;
• the Complaint Committee conclusions and or remedies being sought;
• a list of Documents enumerating all the Documents that the Complainant intends to use in evidence to support its position with the Documents numbered consequently therein in ascending alpha-numerical order, starting with C-1, C-2, C-3 and so on;
• any Documents supporting the Complainant’s position; and
• one email address as contact for the Registrar.

First Notice

11 (1) Following the filing of a Complaint, the Registrar shall send a notice to the Respondent Agency, the provincial supervisory boards, and the members of the Respondent Agency’s board of directors to inform them of the Complaint.

(2) The Notice shall instruct the Respondent Agency on filing its response to the Complaint.

(3) The First Notice shall inform relevant stakeholders of the possibility to request Intervener or Observer status according to the rules set out in sections 21 and 22, respectively.

Response to the Complaint

12 The Respondent Agency shall file its response to the Complaint within 10 Business Days of the First Notice Date or a different period as determined by the Chairperson and instructed by the Registrar, and include the following information:

• the Respondent Agency’s position with respect to the Complaint;
• the Complaint Committee recommendation being sought;
• a list of Documents that the Respondent intends to use in evidence to support its position with the Documents numbered consequently therein in ascending alpha-numerical order, starting with R-1, R-2, R-3 and so on; and
• one email address as contact for the Registrar.

Summary of Issues

13 (1) The Advisory Personnel shall review the Complaint, the Response to the Complaint and the Intervener status request, if any, and prepare a summary of issues report and recommendations for the Chairperson.

(2) If it is of the opinion of the Advisory Personnel that the Complaint or the Response to the Complaint is incomplete, the Registrar may request that the Complainant or the Respondent Agency send further information within 10 business days of the date of the request, or such other time as the Advisory Personnel determines as appropriate under the circumstances, in order to complete its analysis.

Preliminary Review

14 (1) Following reception of the summary of issues report, the Chairperson may, if satisfied that the Complainant is directly affected by the operations of the Respondent Agency and that the Complaint falls within Council’s legislative mandate, instruct the Registrar to schedule a preliminary review which must be attended by the Complainant and the Respondent Agency to further understand the issues.

(2) The Chairperson will instruct the Registrar who shall be invited to participate in the preliminary review on behalf of the Complainant and the Respondent Agency.

(3) The Chairperson shall decide whether Advisory Personnel shall attend the preliminary review and, if so, shall instruct the Registrar who shall be invited to participate in the preliminary review from the Advisory Personnel.

(4) The Chairperson may provide a formal agenda for the preliminary review, if deemed necessary, to the Registrar to include with the invitation to attend the preliminary review.

(5) The Registrar will convene the preliminary review as per the Chairperson’s instructions by sending an invitation to attend which will include a list of all attendees and the formal agenda, if any.

(6) The Advisory Personnel is responsible for preparing a summary of the preliminary review. If none of the Advisory Personnel was invited to attend the preliminary review, the Chairperson shall provide a brief summary of issues addressed during the preliminary review to the Advisory Personnel. The Advisory Personnel will draft the summary of the preliminary review and the Registrar will keep it on file.

(7) The preliminary review may be conducted in-person, by teleconference or videoconference at the discretion of the Chairperson or as may be agreed upon by the Parties

Dismissal of the Complaint by the Chairperson

15 (1) At any time prior to creation of the Complaint Committee, the Chairperson may dismiss a Complaint if he concludes that the Complaint is not within Council’s jurisdiction, or is frivolous, vexatious, trivial or otherwise not substantive, or the Complainant is not directly affected by the subject matter of the Complaint.

(2) Once the Complaint is dismissed under this section, the Chairperson shall inform Council members of their decision.

(3) The Registrar shall keep minutes of the discussions conducted under subsection (2) above on file.

(4) The Chairperson will further inform the Parties and Interveners of the summary dismissal of the Complaint via the Registrar in writing.

Confidentiality Measures

16 (1) Any Party or Intervener may request that Confidentiality Measures apply to all or any part of the Documents, Additional Documents or Proceeding by filing a request with the Registrar and providing reasons for such a request.

(2) Prior to the creation of the Complaint Committee, any Confidentiality Measures requests shall be decided by the Chairperson.

(3) Once the Complaint Committee has been formed, any Confidentiality Measures requests shall be decided by the Complaint Committee.

(4) The Chairperson or the Complaint Committee, as the case may be, may, on its own initiative, direct that any Confidentiality Measures apply to any Documents, Additional Documents or Proceeding if deemed necessary.

Pre-Hearing Conference

17 (1) Following reception of the Advisory Personnel’s summary of issues report and summary of the preliminary review, if any, the Chairperson, if satisfied that a Complainant is directly affected by the operations of a Respondent Agency, shall direct that a pre-hearing conference be held in any Proceeding and require that the Parties participate in the conference.

(2) The Chairperson shall designate a Council member to preside at the pre-hearing conference.

(3) The Chairperson shall instruct the Registrar to schedule a pre-hearing conference which must be attended by the Parties.

(4) The purpose of the pre-hearing conference will be to:

• narrow or simplify any issues subject of the Complaint;
• identify any facts agreed by the Parties;
• facilitate discussions between the Parties and encourage alternate dispute resolution of any issues;
• determine any other matter that may assist in a just and expeditious disposition of the Proceeding on mutual agreement of the Parties; and
• inform the Parties of the Council’s role and powers in hearing the Complaint.

(5) The pre-hearing conference may be conducted in-person, by teleconference or videoconference at the discretion of the Chairperson or as may be agreed upon by the Parties.

(6) A pre-hearing conference shall be held in the absence of the public.

Creation of a Complaint Committee

18 (1) Following the conclusion of the pre-hearing conference, the Chairperson shall instruct the Advisory Personnel to prepare a recommendation on the formation of the Complaint Committee.

(2) Following receipt of the Advisory Personnel recommendation, the Chairperson shall form the Complaint Committee.

(3) Once the Complaint Committee has been formed, the Chairperson shall instruct the Complaint Committee to proceed with a hearing.

(4) The Chairperson shall also inform the Complaint Committee of any Confidentiality Measures that have been requested and instruct the Complaint Committee to implement, as required, any such measures.

(5) The Registrar shall electronically communicate the Chairperson’s decision on the formation of the Complaint Committee and the process to the Parties and Interveners.

(6) Upon the formation of the Complaint Committee, the Chairperson’s duties in relation to the Complaint cease and the Chairperson shall not intervene in the examination of the Complaint by the Complaint Committee.

(7) To preserve the integrity of the Complaint process, neither the Respondent Agency nor the Complainant shall have any discussions on the issues subject of the Complaint outside of the formal process as set out in this By-Law with any of the Council members or FPCC’s staff once the Complaint Committee is formed.

(8) All Council members and FPCC staff shall refrain from discussing the Complaint with Parties, Interveners, Observers, or any member of the public, with the exception of what is provided for in this By-Law.

(9) The Chairperson can modify the Complaint Committee representatives at any time.

Second Notice

19 (1) Following the creation of the Complaint Committee, the Registrar shall send a Second Notice to the Parties, the provincial supervisory boards and the members of the Respondent Agency’s board of directors to inform them of the creation of the Complaint Committee and its members.

(2) The Second Notice shall include:

• the Chairperson’s decision on the formation of the Complaint Committee;
• a reminder to stakeholders of the possibility to request Intervener or Observer status according to rules set out in sections 21 and 22; and
• a reminder to request participation via videoconference or teleconference, to send Additional Documents, expert reports and notice of change of representative, if any, in accordance with sections 23, 24, 25, and 27 of this By-Law.

Independence of the Complaint Committee

20 (1) Once created by the Chairperson, the Complaint Committee with the support of the Advisory Personnel and the Registrar, shall examine the Complaint independently.

(2) The Chairperson retains the authority to suspend or replace the Complaint Committee at any time, for any reason that is just and reasonable, which may include inability to perform duties by any of the Complaint Committee members. If necessary, the Chairperson will appoint another Council Member to replace any Council Member unable to sit on the Complaint Committee.

(3) The Complaint Committee shall set the process that the Parties shall follow.

Intervener Status Requests

21 (1) A request for Intervener status shall be filed by email with the Registrar no later than 10 Business Days after the Second Notice is sent and shall include the following information:

• a description of why the Intervener has an interest to intervene and how the proposed intervention can assist the Complaint Committee in examining the Complaint and in determining the issues of the Complaint;
• a list of Documents that the Intervener intends to use in evidence to support its position with the Documents numbered consequently therein in ascending alpha-numerical order, starting with I-1, I-2, I-3 and so on; and
• one email address as contact for the Registrar.

(2) The Advisory Personnel shall review the Intervener status request and prepare a recommendation for the Chairperson or the Complaint Committee as the case may be.

(3) Intervener status shall be granted by the Complaint Committee, if it is satisfied that the proposed intervention can assist in determining the issues of the Complaint.

(4) Once the status of Intervener is granted, all rules as stated in this By-Law apply.

Observers

22 (1) The Complaint Committee may, at its discretion, allow Observers to be present at the hearing or part thereof.

(2) Any Person wishing to attend the hearing as an Observer must file a request with the Registrar no later than 10 Business days after the Second Notice is sent and include the following information:

1. a description of why the Observer wishes to attend the hearing; and
2. the organization they represent.

(3) An Observer does not have a right to ask questions of the Parties or Interveners nor to be questioned by the Parties or Interveners.

Additional Documents

23 (1) The Parties and Interveners may file any Additional Documents by email with the Registrar no later than 10 Business Days after the Second Notice is sent.

(2) The Parties may file any Additional Documents as rebuttal to the Complainant’s, Respondent Agency’s or Intervener’s Documents, by email with the Registrar no later than 10 Business Days after the reception of the Additional Documents.

(3) No Additional Document may be filed outside of this time delay without the permission of the Complaint Committee.

(4) The Complaint Committee may, at any time during the administration of the Complaint, request the Parties to file any Additional Documents.

Expert Witnesses

24 (1) A Party who intends to call an expert witness at the hearing shall, no later than 10 Business Days after the Second Notice is sent, file with the Registrar the following Documents:

• the curriculum vitae of the expert witness; and
• the report, signed by the expert, setting out the substance of the expert’s testimony.

(2) The curriculum vitae is proof that the expert has acquired special or peculiar knowledge through study or experience regarding matters about which the expert will give evidence.

(3) Any Party can file a rebuttal report no later than 10 Business Days after the reception of the Expert report.

Representatives

25 (1) A Party and Intervener may represent themselves or be represented by legal counsel or by their director, officer, or employee or by another duly authorized representative.

(2) If a Party or Intervener chooses to be represented, they must notify the Registrar by email no later than 10 Business Days after the Second Notice is sent.

(3) A Party or Intervener must notify the Registrar if he or she ceases to be represented and must inform the Registrar as soon as possible.

(4) The Registrar shall inform the other Party or Intervener that a Party or Intervener is represented or ceases to be represented by sending a notice to that effect as soon as possible.

Filing and Setting of Schedule for Hearing

26 (1) The Complaint Committee shall, as soon as possible, propose a schedule for the hearing by instructing the Registrar to communicate the proposed schedule to the Parties and Interveners by email.

(2) The Parties and Interveners shall respond to the Registrar within 5 Business Days of receiving the proposed schedule, or any other delay set by the Registrar, by confirming their availability for the hearing, and providing a detailed list of presenters and total time estimated for their presentations.

(3) If either the Party or Intervener are not available on the proposed dates, they must inform the Complaint Committee by providing a valid reason and proposing an alternate date.

(4) Once the schedule has been established by the Complaint Committee after having received responses from the Parties and Interveners, the Complaint Committee will determine the agenda and the Registrar will inform the Parties and Interveners of the hearing date and time allocated for each presentation.

(5) If the Parties or Interveners later become unavailable to attend the hearing as per the established schedule, they must provide a valid reason as soon as possible and if the Complaint Committee is satisfied with the explanation provided, the Complaint Committee may reschedule the hearing.

(6) Following the filing of the proposed schedule, the Complaint Committee shall convene the Parties and Interveners to a videoconference or teleconference to discuss process and timelines.

Procedure at Hearing

Hearing In-Person or by Video or Teleconference

27(1) The hearing may be conducted in-person or by videoconference or teleconference.

(2) The Complaint Committee shall sit in Ottawa for an in-person hearing, whenever possible.

(3) A Party or Intervener may, with the Complaint Committee’s permission, participate in the Proceeding by videoconference or teleconference by filing a request with the Registrar no later than 10 Business Days after the Second Notice is sent.

Hearings Are Non-Public

28 (1) A hearing held by the Complaint Committee to examine the Complaint is closed to the public.

(2) A hearing may only be attended by the Parties to the Complaint, the Interveners, the Observers, the Registrar and Advisory Personnel.

(3) At the request of any of the Parties or on its own initiative, the Complaint Committee may enact any other Confidentiality Measures as it deems necessary and appropriate in the circumstances.

(4) The hearing will be recorded by the court reporter and the transcripts will be made available to the Parties.

(5) The costs of transcripts will be paid by the Council.

Order of Presentation

29 (1) During the hearing, the following order shall be observed:

• Complainant will present their Complaint;
• Respondent Agency will present its Response;
• Intervener will make their presentations;
• Complainant can reply to the Respondent Agency and Intervener; and
• Respondent Agency can reply to the Complainant’s reply and Intervener’s presentations.

(2) The Parties and Intervener may ask questions of other Parties and Intervener, if any, during the hearing at any time.

(3) The Complaint Committee may ask questions at any time during the hearing. The Advisory Personnel shall support the Complaint Committee during the hearing, which may include providing questions or advice to the Complaint Committee.

(4) The Complaint Committee shall limit or extend time as required for each presentation as set out in subsection (1).

Presentations

30 Each presentation made before the Complaint Committee shall be based on the Documents and Additional Documents submitted to the Registrar in accordance with this By-Law.

Adjournment

31 A hearing may be suspended, rescheduled or adjourned by the Complaint Committee at any time on such terms as the Complaint Committee considers just and reasonable.

Failure to Appear

32 (1) If one of the Parties or the Intervener do not appear at the hearing and the Complaint Committee is satisfied that a notice of hearing was sent to the Party or the Intervener, the Complaint Committee shall adjourn the hearing for thirty minutes and instruct the Registrar to contact the Party who failed to appear during the adjournment to obtain an explanation.

(2) If the Complainant fails to appear at the hearing and the Registrar is unable to reach the Complainant, the Complaint Committee shall consider the Complaint abandoned and shall dismiss the Complaint.

(3) If the Respondent Agency or the Intervener fail to attend and the Registrar is unable to reach either of them, the Complaint Committee may decide without hearing from those Parties.

(4) If the Registrar is able to reach the Party or the Intervener or if the Party or the Intervener has contacted the Registrar to provide a justification for failure to appear, the Registrar shall inform the Complaint Committee of the explanation provided and the Complaint Committee may either adjourn the hearing of the Complaint or take such other action as it deems just and reasonable.

Communications and Media

33 It is strictly forbidden for the Parties, Interveners or Observers to record or film the hearing or any part thereof.

34 No media shall be attending the hearing.

35 All Parties, Interveners or Observers shall refrain from making public comments on the proceedings, including written press or social media.

Fees

36 Fees for travel and accommodation related to the Complaint, witnesses or experts, for all Parties, Interveners or Observers, shall be at their own expense.

Duties and Powers of the Complaint Committee and Council Members

37 The Complaint Committee may take notice of any generally recognized facts, information, or opinions within its specialized knowledge.

Complaint Committee’s Report and Conclusion of the Proceeding

38 (1) The Complaint Committee shall write its report and table it for Council’s consideration.

(2) The Complaint Committee’s report shall include a recommendation to Council on the Complaint as well as any recommendation to the Parties.

(3) The Council shall make a final decision on the Complaint based upon the Complaint Committee’s recommendation. The decision of the Council will be communicated in writing and shall include reasons for the decision. The Council may either decide to allow or dismiss the Complaint in full or in part.

(4) The Registrar shall electronically communicate the Complaint Committee’s report to the Parties and Interveners.

(5) Both the Complaint Committee report and the Council decision letter will be made available to the public and posted on Council’s website after they have been communicated to the Parties and Interveners, unless Confidentiality Measures apply to prevent public disclosure.

(6) The Complaint Committee shall be dissolved once the Council has rendered its decision on the Complaint.

Review

39 This By-Law is subject to review every five (5) years, or at any time deemed necessary.