Bill C-2

3rd Session, 40th Parliament,

59 Elizabeth II, 2010

house of commons of canada

BILL C-2

An Act to implement the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the Republic of Colombia, the Agreement on the Environment between Canada and the Republic of Colombia and the Agreement on Labour Cooperation between Canada and the Republic of Colombia

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

SHORT TITLE

1. This Act may be cited as the Canada–Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act.

INTERPRETATION

2. The definitions in this section apply in this Act.

“Agreement” means the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the Republic of Colombia, signed on November 21, 2008.

“federal law” means the whole or any portion of an Act of Parliament or a regulation, order or other instrument issued, made or established in the exercise of a power conferred by or under an Act of Parliament.

“Joint Commission” means the Joint Commission established under Article 2001 of the Agreement.

“Minister” means the Minister for International Trade.

“related agreement” means

(a) the Agreement on the Environment between Canada and the Republic of Colombia, signed on November 21, 2008; or

(b) the Agreement on Labour Cooperation between Canada and the Republic of Colombia, signed on November 21, 2008.

3. For greater certainty, this Act and any federal law that implements a provision of the Agreement or a related agreement or fulfils an obligation of the Government of Canada under the Agreement or a related agreement is to be interpreted in a manner consistent with the Agreement or related agreement, as the case may be.

4. For greater certainty, nothing in this Act or the Agreement applies to natural surface or ground water in liquid, gaseous or solid state.

5. For greater certainty, nothing in this Act, by specific mention or omission, is to be construed to affect in any manner the right of Parliament to enact legislation to implement any provision of the Agreement or a related agreement or fulfil any of the obligations of the Government of Canada under the Agreement or a related agreement.

HER MAJESTY

6. This Act is binding on Her Majesty in right of Canada.

PURPOSE

7. The purpose of this Act is to implement the Agreement and the related agreements, the objectives of which, as elaborated more specif- ically through their provisions, are to

(a) establish a free trade area in accordance with the Agreement;

(b) promote, through the expansion of recip- rocal trade, the harmonious development of the economic relations between Canada and the Republic of Colombia in order to foster, in Canada and in Colombia, the advancement of economic activity;

(c) provide fair conditions of competition affecting trade between Canada and the Republic of Colombia;

(d) substantially increase investment opportunities in Canada and the Republic of Colombia;

(e) contribute, by the removal of barriers to trade, to the harmonious development and expansion of world trade;

(f) enhance and enforce environmental laws and regulations and strengthen cooperation on environmental matters;

(g) protect, enhance and enforce basic workers’ rights, strengthen cooperation and build on the respective international commitments of Canada and the Republic of Colombia on labour matters; and

(h) promote sustainable development.

CAUSES OF ACTION

8. (1) No person has any cause of action and no proceedings of any kind shall be taken, without the consent of the Attorney General of Canada, to enforce or determine any right or obligation that is claimed or arises solely under or by virtue of Part 1 or an order made under that Part.

(2) Subject to Section B of Chapter Eight of the Agreement and Part Three and Annex 4 of the Agreement on Labour Cooperation between Canada and the Republic of Colombia, signed on November 21, 2008, no person has any cause of action and no proceedings of any kind shall be taken, without the consent of the Attorney General of Canada, to enforce or determine any right or obligation that is claimed or arises solely under or by virtue of the Agreement or a related agreement.

PART 1

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AGREEMENT AND THE RELATED AGREEMENTS

Approval

9. The Agreement and the related agreements are approved.

Administrative and Institutional Provisions

10. The Minister is the principal representative of Canada on the Joint Commission.

11. The Government of Canada shall pay its appropriate share of the aggregate of any expenditures incurred by or on behalf of the Joint Commission.

Panels, Committees, Subcommittees and Working Groups

12. The Minister may

(a) appoint any person to be a representative of Canada on any committee or subcommittee referred to in Annex 2001 of the Agreement;

(b) appoint any person to be a panelist in accordance with Article 2108 of the Agreement; and

(c) propose candidates to serve as the chair of panels in accordance with that Article.

13. The Minister shall designate an agency, division or branch of the Government of Canada to facilitate the operation of Chapter Twenty-one of the Agreement and to provide administrative assistance to panels established under that Chapter.

14. The Government of Canada shall pay the costs of or its appropriate share of the costs of

(a) the remuneration and expenses payable to members of panels, committees, subcommittees and working groups and to the assistants of panel members; and

(b) the general expenses incurred by panels, committees, subcommittees and working groups.

Orders

15. (1) The Governor in Council may, for the purpose of suspending benefits in accord- ance with Article 2114 of the Agreement, by order, do any one or more of the following:

(a) suspend rights or privileges granted by Canada to the Republic of Colombia or to goods of the Republic of Colombia under the Agreement or any federal law;

(b) modify or suspend the application of any federal law, with respect to the Republic of Colombia or to goods of the Republic of Colombia;

(c) extend the application of any federal law to the Republic of Colombia or to goods of the Republic of Colombia; and

(d) take any other measure that the Governor in Council considers necessary for that purpose.

(2) Unless repealed, an order made under subsection (1) has effect for the period specified in the order.

PART 2

RELATED AMENDMENTS

Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act

16. (1) Section 2 of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (3):

(2) Subsection 2(5) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(5) For the purposes of this Act, goods are imported from an EFTA state, from a NAFTA country, from Chile, from Costa Rica, from Peru or from Colombia if they are shipped directly to Canada from the EFTA state, the NAFTA country, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru or Colombia, as the case may be, within the meaning of sections 17 and 18 of the Customs Tariff.

17. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 19.012:

18. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 20.04:

19. Section 21.1 of the Act is replaced by the following:

21.1 In sections 23 to 30, “complaint” means a written complaint filed with the Tribunal under subsection 23(1), (1.01), (1.02), (1.03), (1.04), (1.05), (1.06), (1.061), (1.07), (1.08), (1.09), (1.091), (1.092) or (1.093) and, for the purposes of those sections, a complaint is properly documented if the Tribunal is satisfied that it contains or is accompanied by the information required by section 23.

20. Section 23 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1.06):

21. Paragraph 26(1)(a) of the Act is amended by adding the following after subparagraph (i.6):

22. Subsection 27(1) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (a.6):

Commercial Arbitration Act

23. Subsection 5(4) of the Commercial Arbitration Act is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (b), by adding “and” at the end of paragraph (c) and by adding the following after paragraph (c):

Crown Liability and Proceedings Act

24. Part 2 of the schedule to the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act is amended by adding the following after section 3:

Customs Act

25. (1) The definitions “free trade agreement” and “free trade partner” in subsection 2(1) of the Customs Act are replaced by the following:

“free trade agreement” means NAFTA, CCFTA, CCRFTA, CEFTA, CIFTA, CPFTA or CCOFTA;

“free trade partner” means

(a) a NAFTA country,

(b) Chile,

(c) Costa Rica,

(d) Israel or another CIFTA beneficiary,

(e) an EFTA state,

(f) Peru, or

(2) Subsection 2(1) of the Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

(3) Subsection 2(1.2) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (b):

26. Section 42.4 of the Act and the heading before it are replaced by the following:

Denial or Withdrawal of Benefit of Preferential Tariff Treatment under NAFTA, CCFTA, CCRFTA, CPFTA or CCOFTA

42.4 (1) In this section, “identical goods” has the meaning assigned to that expression by Article 514 of NAFTA, Article E-14 of CCFTA, Article V.14 of CCRFTA, Article 423 of CPFTA or Article 423 of CCOFTA, as the case may be.

(2) Notwithstanding section 24 of the Customs Tariff, the Minister may, subject to the prescribed conditions, deny or withdraw pref- erential tariff treatment under NAFTA, CCFTA, CCRFTA, CPFTA or CCOFTA in respect of goods for which that treatment is claimed if the exporter or producer of the goods has made false representations that identical goods exported or produced by that exporter or producer and for which that treatment was claimed were eligible for that treatment.

27. Paragraph 43.1(1)(b) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(b) in the case of goods exported from a NAFTA country, from Chile, from Costa Rica, from an EFTA state, from Peru or from Colombia, any matter, other than those referred to in paragraphs (a) and (c), concerning those goods that is set out in paragraph 1 of Article 509 of NAFTA, in paragraph 1 of Article E-09 of CCFTA, in paragraph 1 of Article V.9 or paragraph 10 of Article IX.2 of CCRFTA, in Article 28(2) of Annex C of CEFTA, in paragraph 1 of Article 419 of CPFTA or in paragraph 1 of Article 419 of CCOFTA, as the case may be; and

28. Paragraph 74(1)(c.11) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(c.11) the goods were imported from Costa Rica, from an EFTA state, from Israel or another CIFTA beneficiary, from Peru or from Colombia but no claim for preferential tariff treatment under CCRFTA, CEFTA, CIFTA, CPFTA or CCOFTA, as the case may be, was made in respect of those goods at the time they were accounted for under subsection 32(1), (3) or (5);

29. Section 164 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1.2):

Customs Tariff

30. Subsection 2(1) of the Customs Tariff is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

31. Section 5 of the Act is replaced by the following:

5. For the purposes of this Act, goods are imported from a NAFTA country, Chile, Costa Rica, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Peru or Colombia if they are shipped directly to Canada from that country.

32. Paragraph 14(2)(c) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(c) by way of compensation for any action taken under subsection 55(1), section 60 or subsection 63(1), 69(2), 70(2), 71(2), 71.01(1), 71.1(2), 71.5(1), 72(1), 75(1), 76(1) or 76.1(1) or under subsection 5(3), (3.2) or (4.1) of the Export and Import Permits Act.

33. Paragraph 24(1)(b) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(b) the goods are entitled to that tariff treatment in accordance with regulations made under section 16 or an order made under paragraph 31(1)(a), 34(1)(a), 38(1)(a) or 42(1)(a), subsection 45(13), section 48 or subsection 49(2), 49.01(8) or 49.5(8).

34. Section 27 of the Act is replaced by the following:

27. For the purposes of the List of Tariff Provisions and the “F” Staging List, the abbreviations “UST”, “MT”, “MUST”, “CT”, “CRT”, “CIAT”, “GPT”, “LDCT”, “CCCT”, “AUT”, “NZT”, “IT”, “NT”, “SLT”, “PT” and “COLT” refer, respectively, to “United States Tariff”, “Mexico Tariff”, “Mexico–United States Tariff”, “Chile Tariff”, “Costa Rica Tariff”, “Canada–Israel Agreement Tariff”, “General Preferential Tariff”, “Least Developed Country Tariff”, “Commonwealth Caribbean Countries Tariff”, “Australia Tariff”, “New Zealand Tariff”, “Iceland Tariff”, “Norway Tariff”, “Switzerland–Liechtenstein Tariff”, “Peru Tariff” and “Colombia Tariff”.

35. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 49:

36. The definition “principal cause” in section 54 of the Act is replaced by the following:

“principal cause”, in respect of goods imported from Peru or Colombia, means an important cause that is no less important than any other cause.

37. Section 59.1 of the Act is replaced by the following:

59.1 An order made under subsection 55(1) may exclude goods of any kind imported from Peru or Colombia if it appears to the satisfaction of the Governor in Council, on the basis of a report under section 20 or 29 of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act, that the quantity of those goods being imported is not a principal cause of serious injury or threat of serious injury to domestic producers of like or directly competitive goods.

38. Subsection 63(4.1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(4.1) An order under subsection (1) may exclude goods of any kind imported from Peru or Colombia if it appears to the satisfaction of the Governor in Council, on the basis of a report under the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act, that the quantity of those goods being imported is not a principal cause of serious injury or threat of serious injury to domestic producers of like or directly competitive goods.

39. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 71:

40. Section 79 of the Act is replaced by the following:

79. An order made under subsection 53(2) or 55(1), section 60 or subsection 63(1), 69(2), 70(2), 71.01(1), 71.1(2), 71.5(1), 72(1), 75(1), 76(1) or 76.1(1) may provide that goods that are in transit to Canada at the time the order comes into force are entitled to the tariff treatment that was applicable to those goods immediately before that time.

41. Paragraphs 133(j) and (j.1) of the Act are replaced by the following:

(j) for the purpose of tariff item No. 9971.00.00, prescribing conditions under which goods that have been exported to a NAFTA country, Chile, Costa Rica, Israel or another CIFTA beneficiary, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Peru or Colombia for repair or alteration may be imported;

(j.1) for the purpose of tariff item No. 9992.00.00, prescribing conditions under which goods that have been exported to a NAFTA country, Chile, Costa Rica, Israel or another CIFTA beneficiary, Peru or Colombia for repair or alteration may be imported;

42. (1) The List of Tariff Provisions set out in the schedule to the Act is amended by

(a) adding in the column “Preferential Tariff / Initial Rate”, above the reference to “GPT”, a reference to “COLT:”;

(b) adding in the column “Preferential Tariff / Final Rate”, above the reference to “GPT”, a reference to “COLT:”;

(c) adding in the column “Preferential Tariff / Initial Rate” a reference to “Free” after the abbreviation “COLT”, and adding in the column “Preferential Tariff / Final Rate” a reference to “Free (A)” after the abbreviation “COLT”, for all tariff items except those set out in each of Schedules 1 and 2 to this Act;

(d) adding in the columns “Preferential Tariff / Initial Rate” and “Preferential Tariff / Final Rate” a reference to “N/A” after the abbreviation “COLT” for tariff items set out in Schedule 1 to this Act; and

(e) adding in the columns “Preferential Tariff / Initial Rate” and “Preferential Tariff / Final Rate” after the abbreviation “COLT”, for each tariff item set out in Schedule 2 to this Act, the rates of duty and staging categories set out with respect to that tariff item in that Schedule.

(2) The Description of Goods of tariff item No. 9929.00.00 in the List of Tariff Provisions set out in the schedule to the Act is amended by replacing the reference to “imported from the United States, Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica or Peru” with a reference to “imported from the United States, Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru or Colombia”.

(3) The Description of Goods of tariff item No. 9971.00.00 in the List of Tariff Provisions set out in the schedule to the Act is amended by replacing the reference beginning with “All the foregoing,” and ending with “in that country.” with a reference to “All the foregoing, regardless of the country of origin or tariff treatment, returned to Canada after having been exported to the United States, Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, Israel or another CIFTA beneficiary, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Peru or Colombia for repair or alteration in that country.”.

(4) The Description of Goods of tariff item No. 9990.00.00 in the List of Tariff Provisions set out in the schedule to the Act is amended by

(a) replacing the reference to “Commercial samples imported from the United States, Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica or Peru” with a reference to “Commercial samples imported from the United States, Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru or Colombia”; and

(b) replacing, in paragraph (i), the reference to “in Canadian, Chilean, Mexican, Costa Rican or Peruvian currency” with a reference to “in Canadian, Chilean, Mexican, Costa Rican, Peruvian or Colombian currency”.

(5) The Description of Goods of tariff item No. 9992.00.00 in the List of Tariff Provisions set out in the schedule to the Act is amended by replacing the reference to “exported to the United States, Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, Israel or another CIFTA beneficiary or Peru for repair or alteration” with a reference to “exported to the United States, Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, Israel or another CIFTA beneficiary, Peru or Colombia for repair or alteration”.

Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Act

43. The schedule to the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Act is amended by adding the following after section 1:

Export and Import Permits Act

44. Subsection 2(1) of the Export and Import Permits Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

45. The definition “principal cause” in subsection 4.2(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

“principal cause”, in respect of goods imported from Peru or Colombia, means an important cause that is no less important than any other cause;

46. Subsection 5(3.4) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(3.4) An order made under subsection (3) or (3.2) may exclude goods of any kind imported from Peru or Colombia if it appears to the satisfaction of the Governor in Council, on the basis of a report under the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act, that the quantity of those goods being imported is not a principal cause of serious injury or threat of serious injury to domestic producers of like or directly competitive goods.

Financial Administration Act

47. The Financial Administration Act is amended by adding the following after section 89.4:

PART 3

COMING INTO FORCE

48. (1) The provisions of this Act come into force on a day or days to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.

(2) No order may be made under subsection (1) unless the Governor in Council is satisfied that the Government of the Republic of Colombia has taken satisfactory steps to implement the Agreement and the related agreements.