WEINMANN LIMITED

WEINMANN LIMITED
File No. PR-2016-053

Decision made
Friday, February 3, 2017

Decision and reasons issued
Wednesday, February 8, 2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

IN THE MATTER OF a complaint filed pursuant to subsection 30.11(1) of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. 47 (4th Supp.).

BY

WEINMANN LIMITED

AGAINST

THE MUNICIPALITY OF KINCARDINE, ONTARIO

DECISION

Pursuant to subsection 30.13(1) of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal has decided not to conduct an inquiry into the complaint.

Jason W. Downey
Jason W. Downey
Presiding Member

STATEMENT OF REASONS

  1. Subsection 30.11(1) of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act[1] provides that, subject to the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Procurement Inquiry Regulations,[2] a potential supplier may file a complaint with the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (the Tribunal) concerning any aspect of the procurement process that relates to a designated contract and request the Tribunal to conduct an inquiry into the complaint. Subsection 30.13(1) of the CITT Act provides that, subject to the Regulations, after the Tribunal determines that a complaint complies with subsection 30.11(2) of the CITT Act, it shall decide whether to conduct an inquiry into the complaint.

INTRODUCTION

  1. The complaint relates to a request for pre-qualification for a procurement by WSP Canada Inc. (WSP) on behalf of the Municipality of Kincardine, Ontario, for the provision of airfield electrical works and airfield pavement and electrical rehabilitation at the Kincardine Airport. The Tribunal has determined that it does not have jurisdiction to conduct an inquiry into the complaint for the reasons provided below.

COMPLAINT

  1. Weinmann Limited (Weinmann) alleges that WSP improperly rejected its statement of qualifications, that it did not grant Weinmann an opportunity to provide further documentation to support its original submission and that the scoring criteria used by the evaluators was not transparent.

ANALYSIS

  1. Pursuant to subsection 30.11(1) of the CITT Act and subject to the Regulations, the Tribunal has jurisdiction to inquire into complaints by potential suppliers concerning any aspect of the procurement process that relates to a designated contract.
  2. As such, before the Tribunal can accept a complaint for inquiry, it must be satisfied that the complaint is in respect of a “designated contract”.
  3. Section 30.1 of the CITT Act defines, in part, “designated contract” as a contract concerning a procurement of goods or services by a government institution.
  4. Section 30.1 of the CITT Act defines “government institution” as “. . . any department or ministry of state of the Government of Canada, or any body or office, that is designated by the regulations”.[3]
  5. The Tribunal notes that neither WSP nor the Municipality of Kincardine is listed in any of the relevant schedules or annexes of the trade agreements. The Tribunal finds that neither entity is a covered federal government entity or government enterprise and, as such, that neither is a “government institution” as described in the trade agreements.
  6. For this reason, the Tribunal finds that the contract at issue is not a “designated contract”. As such, the Tribunal lacks the jurisdiction to inquire into the complaint and considers the matter closed.
  7. Weinmann may wish to seek legal counsel to ascertain whether it can address its grievances to the courts.

DECISION

  1. Pursuant to subsection 30.13(1) of the CITT Act, the Tribunal has decided not to conduct an inquiry into the complaint.
 

[1].      R.S.C., 1985, c. 47 (4th Supp.) [CITT Act].

[2].      S.O.R./93-602 [Regulations].

[3].      Subsection 3(2) of the Regulations designates as government institutions the federal government entities and government enterprises set out in the following sections of the applicable trade agreements: the Schedule of Canada in Annex 1001.1a-1 of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the heading “CANADA” in Annex 502.1A of the Agreement on Internal Trade, the heading “CANADA” in Annex 1 of the Agreement on Government Procurement, the Schedule of Canada in Annex Kbis-01.1-1 of Chapter Kbis of the Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement, the Schedule of Canada in Annex 1401.1-1 of Chapter Fourteen of the Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement, the Schedule of Canada in Annex 1401.1 of Chapter Fourteen of the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, the Schedule of Canada in Annex 1 of Chapter Sixteen of the Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement, the Schedule of Canada in Annex 17.1 of Chapter Seventeen of the Canada-Honduras Free Trade Agreement and the Schedule of Canada in Annex 14-A of Chapter Fourteen of the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement.