Regulations Amending the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Procurement Inquiry Regulations: SOR/2025-247

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 159, Number 26

Registration
SOR/2025-247 November 28, 2025

CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL TRADE TRIBUNAL ACT

P.C. 2025-857 November 28, 2025

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance, makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Procurement Inquiry Regulations under section 40footnote a of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Actfootnote b.

Regulations Amending the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Procurement Inquiry Regulations

Amendments

1 The Canadian International Trade Tribunal Procurement Inquiry Regulationsfootnote 1 are amended by adding the following after section 4:

Matters Not to be Addressed or Examined

4.01 (1) Despite any provision in respect of procurement of any trade agreement, the Tribunal shall not address or examine matters relating to any measure in the procurement process that

(2) Despite any provision in respect of procurement of CETA or the CUKTCA, the Tribunal shall not address or examine matters relating to any measure in the procurement process that restricts participation to small businesses.

(3) Despite any provision in respect of procurement of any trade agreement, the Tribunal shall not address or examine matters relating to the way in which the expressions “Canadian supplier”, “Canadian good”, “Canadian service”, “Canadian material”, “Canadian subcontractor”, “benefit for Canada”, “Canadian value-added” or “small business” are defined for the purposes of the procurement process.

2 Section 7 of the Regulations is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (c) and by adding the following after that paragraph:

3 Section 11 of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

11 Subject to section 4.01, if the Tribunal conducts an inquiry into a complaint, it shall determine whether the procurement process was conducted in accordance with the provisions in respect of procurement set out in whichever trade agreement applies.

Transitional Provision

4 Section 4.01, paragraph 7(1)(c.1) and section 11 of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Procurement Inquiry Regulations, as they read on the day on which these Regulations come into force, apply in respect of a complaint that is filed on or after December 15, 2025 and for which, as of the day on which these Regulations come into force, the Tribunal has not made a determination under section 11 of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Procurement Inquiry Regulations.

Coming into Force

5 These Regulations come into force on December 15, 2025, but, if they are registered after that day, they come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

Amendments to the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Procurement Inquiry Regulations (the Regulations) are needed to modify the scope of the matters that the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) may review so that it cannot inquire into matters relating to any federal procurement process measure that relates to Canadian suppliers and content or limiting procurements to small businesses. These amendments are required to support the Buy Canadian Policy, as announced by the Prime Minister on September 5, 2025.

Background

In response to a rapidly changing global trade landscape, Canada is implementing a series of measures to support the Canadian economy, including the sectors most impacted by trade disruptions. One such measure includes the Buy Canadian Policy that requires or favours Canadian suppliers and content in federal procurements. Additionally, the Buy Canadian Policy provides for the launch of a program that creates specific streams of procurement for small businesses.

Canada’s trade agreements require that Canada provide a domestic review mechanism for complaints from suppliers of a trade agreement country who allege that a procurement process violates the obligations of an applicable trade agreement. At the federal level, this role is predominantly fulfilled by the CITT, which is mandated to determine if a complaint satisfies the conditions for inquiry, and if so, to conduct inquiries into whether the procurement adheres to the procurement obligations of an applicable trade agreement.

The Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act provides for the Regulations to establish the scope and nature of the CITT’s procurement inquiry process, including what federal government procurement contracts are subject to CITT review, who can file a complaint, and which matters are subject to review. The scope and nature of the inquiry process is based, in part, on the requirements for domestic review procedures in Canada’s international trade agreements.

Objective

The objective of the Regulations Amending the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Procurement Inquiry Regulations (the Amendments) is to enable successful implementation of the Buy Canadian Policy.

Description

The Amendments modify which matters are subject to the CITT’s review. More specifically, matters not subject to review will be those relating to measures in the procurement process that relate to Canadian suppliers or content, such as those that restrict participation in a procurement process to Canadian suppliers or favour the use of Canadian goods or services, or that limit eligibility in a procurement process to small businesses.

Regulatory development

Consultation

As the Amendments will impact the CITT, a federal arm’s-length quasi-judicial body, and the Government has conducted both broad and targeted consultations with relevant stakeholders on the Buy Canadian Policy, additional consultations were not necessary. Consulted stakeholders include, but are not limited to, major domestic industry associations representing steel, aluminum, wood, and construction sectors, that in turn, consulted the companies that form their associations.

Indigenous engagement, consultation and modern treaty obligations

Following the completion of the assessment of modern treaty implications, no adverse impacts on potential or established Indigenous or treaty rights, which are recognized and affirmed in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, were identified in the Amendments.

Instrument choice

Section 40 of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act provides the authority for the Governor in Council to make regulations respecting the matters to be addressed by the CITT during procurement inquiries.

Section 30.11(1) of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act allows potential suppliers to file a complaint to the CITT concerning any aspect of the procurement process that relates to a designated contract, subject to the regulations.

The CITT is an arm’s-length tribunal mandated to inquire into complaints concerning procurements by the federal government that are covered under Canada’s trade agreements, subject to the requirements set out in the Regulations. There is no alternative than regulatory amendments to amend the scope of the CITT procurement review process.

Regulatory analysis

Benefits and costs

Without the Amendments under the current regulatory framework (the baseline), potential suppliers would be able to file complaints to the CITT based on matters relating to any measure in the procurement process that relates to Canadian suppliers or content, such as measures that restrict participation to Canadian suppliers or favour the use of Canadian goods or services, or that limits eligibility in a procurement to small businesses. The CITT would then provide rulings based on the validity of these complaints.

With the Amendments, the CITT cannot inquire into matters relating to these measures. Therefore, a certain number of potential suppliers who would have filed a complaint with the CITT would likely choose not to pursue the issue further or would have their complaints dismissed. However, some suppliers may explore other legal avenues to have their complaints considered. In such cases, the Government of Canada may be required to participate in the legal processes and incur costs in those fora as a result.

The Amendments are expected to benefit Canada by streamlining the CITT’s ability to assess procurement processes and providing greater certainty to the Government on the role of the CITT when implementing the Buy Canadian Policy. Additionally, they will provide greater transparency to potential suppliers with respect to which matters relating to any measure that is part of the procurement process can be brought to the CITT.

Small business lens

Analysis under the small business lens determined that the Amendment would not impose administrative or compliance requirements on Canadian small businesses. The Amendments will allow for measures that provide targeted opportunities for small businesses. Accordingly, these changes are not expected to negatively impact small businesses.

One-for-one rule

The one-for-one rule does not apply, as there is no incremental change in administrative burden on businesses and no regulatory titles are repealed or introduced.

Regulatory cooperation and alignment

The Amendments will impact the CITT, which is a federal arms-length quasi-judicial body, by modifying its review scope so that it cannot inquire into matters relating to any measure in the federal procurement process that relates to Canadian suppliers or content or small businesses. Because the CITT inquires only into federal procurements, the Amendments will not have any direct impact on the provinces or territories and do not need to be aligned with the regulatory practices of those jurisdictions, which have their own distinct bid protest review regimes.

Effects on the environment

In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on Strategic Environmental and Economic Assessment (SEEA Directive), a preliminary scan concluded that a strategic environmental and economic assessment is not required.

Gender-based analysis plus

No gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) impacts have been identified for the Amendments.

Implementation, compliance and enforcement, and service standards

The Amendments come into force on December 15, 2025. The Amendments will apply to complaints filed on or after December 15, 2025, and for which, on the day on which these Amendments come into force, the CITT has not made a determination.

The Amendments will be applied by the CITT as part of its responsibilities for conducting inquiries into complaints from businesses regarding federal procurements.

Contact

Marie-Hélène Cantin
International Trade Policy Division
Department of Finance Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
Email: Marie-Helene.Cantin@fin.gc.ca