Winnipeg – January 10, 2018 – An Appeal Panel will hold a hearing under the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) to hear the appeal from the decision of the dispute between Artisan Ales Consulting Inc. and the government of Alberta regarding mark-ups on out-of-Province beer.
In July 2016 Artisan Ales Consulting Inc. requested that a Person to Government proceeding be initiated in respect to an Alberta measure relating to the mark-up applied to beer imported from other Canadian provinces. In August of 2017 a Panel released a report to the effect that Alberta’s measure in question had impaired internal trade and caused injury and a denial of benefit. In August of 2017 Alberta served notice to appeal the decision.
Under Person-to-Government dispute resolution provisions of the AIT, a Disputing Party may appeal a Panel Report to an Appellate Panel on the grounds that the Panel erred in law, failed to observe a principle of natural justice or acted beyond or refused to exercise its jurisdiction.
The Appeal Panel is comprised of: Peter Kirby (Chair), Milos Barutciski and Debra Steger. The Appeal Panel hearing will begin at 9:30 A.M. on January 25, 2018 and will be held at the Marriott Château Champlain in the Cartier B and C conference rooms, at 1 Place du Canada Montreal, Québec. The hearing is open to the public. The Appeal Panel shall issue its report within 90 days after the hearing, the report will then be released publicly 30 days following its release to the disputants.
The AIT was an intergovernmental trade agreement signed by Canadian First Ministers in July 1994. Its purpose was to reduce and eliminate, to the extent possible, barriers to the free movement of persons, goods, services, and investment within Canada so as to establish an open, efficient, and stable domestic market. The AIT was replaced by the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) in July 2017. However, the AIT is applicable to this dispute, in accordance with CFTA Article 1014. Access to the dispute resolution mechanisms of the CFTA is open to governments, individuals and businesses.
