Who we are
History of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal
The Tribunal has a long and rich history
| 1888 | The Board of Customs is established. Its powers include the review of matters such as value for duty, the re-determination of a rate of duty or the exemption of a good from duty. The decisions of the Board are subject to the approval of the Minister of Revenue. |
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| 1904 | Canada adopts its first anti-dumping legislation.It is among the first countries in the world to have such legislative tools. Under this legislation, duties are automatically applied to dumped goods, without case-by-case investigations. |
| 1931 | The Tariff Board is established as a successor to the Board of Customs, and Board of Customs appellate powers are transferred to the Tariff Board. It is a court of record, independent from Customs. In addition to the appeal powers held by the Board of Customs, the Tariff Board inquires into economic matters referred to it by the Minister of Finance. |
| 1968 | The Anti-dumping Tribunal is established, following the adoption of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Anti-Dumping Code. The application of anti dumping duties is, from now on, subject to a determination by an independent tribunal of whether the dumping has caused material injury to domestic production. |
| 1969 | The Anti-dumping Tribunal becomes the Canadian Import Tribunal to reflect a broader mandate to conduct injury inquiries in both anti-dumping and countervailing duty proceedings under the newly adopted Anti-dumping Act, as well as in safeguard cases. |
| 1970 | The Textile and Clothing Board is formed and inquires into safeguard complaints by the Canadian textile and apparel industries. |
| 1988 | The Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) begins operations following the merger of the Tariff Board, the Canadian Import Tribunal and the Textile and Clothing Board. |
| 1994 | The Tribunal absorbs the Procurement Review Board, established in 1988, extending the Tribunal’s mandate to include inquiries into whether federal procurement processes have been conducted in accordance with Canada’s domestic and international trade obligations. |
| 2014 | The Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada (ATSSC) is established to provide operational support and corporate services to a group of tribunals, including the CITT. Staff and resources associated with the CITT Secretariat are transferred to the new entity while remaining mainly dedicated to the CITT. |
Members of the Tribunal
The Tribunal may be composed of up to seven full-time permanent members, including the Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson. In addition to his duties as a member of the Tribunal, the Chairperson assigns cases to members and manages the Tribunal’s work. Permanent members are appointed by the Governor in Council for a term of up to five years, which can be renewed once. Up to five temporary members may also be appointed. Members have a variety of educational backgrounds and experience.
Frédéric Seppey is the Chairperson of the Tribunal and Bree Jamieson-Holloway is the Vice Chairperson. In 2023-24, the Tribunal operated with seven permanent members and two temporary members. As of March 31, 2024, the Tribunal’s members are:
- Susan Beaubien (Permanent member, mandate effective until March 20, 2029)
- Cheryl Beckett (Permanent member, mandate effective until November 23, 2028)
- Georges Bujold (Permanent member, mandate effective until November 23, 2028)
- Serge Fréchette (Temporary part-time member, mandate effective until June 9, 2025)
- Randolph W. Heggart (Permanent member, mandate effective until June 17, 2024)
- Bree Jamieson-Holloway (Vice-Chairperson, mandate effective until December 4, 2027)
- Susana Lee (Permanent member, mandate effective until January 28, 2029)
- Frédéric Seppey (Chairperson, mandate effective until December 31, 2025)
- Eric Wildhaber (Temporary member, mandate effective until July 24, 2025)
Spotlight on the CITT Secretariat
The Tribunal is supported by a secretariat composed of about 60 professionals
The ATSSC is responsible and accountable for providing support services and facilities to the Tribunal and to 11 other federal administrative tribunals. These services include the specialized services required to support the mandate of each tribunal (e.g., registry, legal services and trade investigation services for the CITT), as well as internal services (human resources, financial services, information management and technology, accommodation, security, planning and communications).
Legal services (16 full-time employees)
The legal services team provides legal research and advice to members in support of the Tribunal’s mandates, as well as various legal support services in the conduct of proceedings before the Tribunal.
Registry services (15 full-time employees)
The registry team ensures the effective management of the administrative processes related to the Tribunal’s mandates. It provides administrative support to the Tribunal to ensure that cases are handled as informally and expeditiously as possible. The registry team also liaises between the Tribunal and parties to a proceeding. Its main responsibilities are to:
- communicate with parties on behalf of the Tribunal;
- compile the exhibits on behalf of the Tribunal to produce the official case record;
- manage the logistics of the Tribunal’s in-person, virtual and hybrid hearings; and
- issue decisions on behalf of the Tribunal.
Trade remedies investigations branch (18 full-time employees)
The trade remedies investigations branch (TRIB) is composed of data services advisors and economic analysts. TRIB supports the Tribunal by providing economic data and analysis in dumping and subsidizing cases, primarily by developing questionnaires and using the information received to produce investigation reports on the market for the goods under investigation. TRIB also provides economic advice and analysis to Tribunal members on discrete economic issues that arise in the course of investigations and deliberations.
Editing services (4 full-time employees)
The Editing services team edits and translates Tribunal decisions as well as various documents. It also publishes content on the Tribunal’s website and prepares communication products (notices, press releases and letters to parties and stakeholders).