INTERNAL TRADE |
Canada (Attorney General) v. EDS Canada Ltd.
A-316-03
2004 FCA 122, Evans J.A.
24/3/04
6 pp.
Practice--Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) dismissing complaint by EDS Canada Ltd. that evaluation of bids for government contract improper--On judicial review, question whether CITT unlawfully exercised discretion in refusing to award Crown costs in respect of unsuccessful complaint--CITT's power to award costs contained in Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act, s. 30.16--CITT's reasons for denying costs vague and not indicating with any precision nature of deficiency in request for proposal to bid on contract (RFP), nor suggesting what RFP ought to have said so that Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) could avoid perceived problem in future--Nor does fact PWGSC decided to re-evaluate miscellaneous in-service support component of RFP justify denying Crown costs--If relying on apparently trivial and immaterial defects in procurement documents to depart from general rule that costs follow event, it is incumbent upon CITT to spell out with some particularity nature of defect and its relevance to award of costs--In absence of substantiated finding defects prejudiced bidder's response to RFP or induced it to complain, fact PWGSC and Department of National Defence authors of RFP providing no rational basis for denying Crown costs on dismissal of complaint--Application allowed-- Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act, R.S.C., 1985, (4th Supp.), c. 47, s. 30.16 (as enacted by S.C. 1993, c. 44, s. 44).