Regulatory Tribunals

Some tribunals make rules, regulations, and policy decisions to protect the public. These are called regulatory tribunals.

For example, the federal CRTC makes rules about the amount that your telephone provider can charge for services. Similarly, the provincial Financial Institutions Commission creates rules to protect the public in many areas such as real estate, pension plans, and credit unions.

Federal

Atomic energy: Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
Responsible for most nuclear research and development in Canada, the AECL designs, sells, and services nuclear reactors. The AECL also has a public policy role to safely and securely support Canada’s nuclear energy supply and to manage the Canadian government’s nuclear wastes and legacy obligations.

Border services: Canada Border Services Agency
Ensures the security and prosperity of Canada by managing the access of people and goods to and from Canada. The Agency is responsible for providing integrated border services that support national security and public safety priorities and facilitate the free flow of persons and goods, including animals and plants that meet all requirements under the program legislation.

Consumer finance: Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
Ensures compliance with federal consumer protection laws that apply to banks and federally incorporated trust, loan, and insurance companies.

Copyright: Copyright Board of Canada
An economic regulatory body empowered to establish the royalties to be paid for the use of copyrighted works, when the administration of such copyright is entrusted to a collective-administration society. The Board also has the right to supervise agreements between users and licensing bodies and issues licences when the copyright owner cannot be located.

Dairy: Canadian Dairy Commission
Coordinates federal and provincial dairy policies and creates a control mechanism for milk production. Purchases, stores, processes, or sells dairy products on the domestic or export market, within World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments. Sets the support prices of butter and skim milk powder, which establish provincial prices for milk used to manufacture products such as butter, cheese, and ice cream.

Elections: Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
Enforces compliance with electoral legislation.

Energy: National Energy Board
Regulates international and interprovincial aspects of the oil, gas, and electric utility industries.

Environmental assessment: Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
The Agency is responsible for leading the federal environmental assessment process for most major natural resource projects. Administers the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and its accompanying regulations. Works to provide Canadians with high-quality environmental assessments that contribute to informed decision making, in support of sustainable development.

Farm products: National Farm Products Council
Promotes efficient, competitive Canadian agriculture and helps to improve farm-product marketing between Canadian provinces and territories and internationally. The Council supervises national marketing, promotion, and research agencies established under the Farm Products Agencies Act.

Financial institutions: Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions
Administers regulatory framework for institutions and pension plans to ensure they are in sound financial condition.

Financial transactions: Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada
Provides information to support the investigation or prosecution of money laundering offences, detection, and deterrence of terrorist activity financing.

Fish marketing (freshwater): Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation
The buyer, processor, and marketer of freshwater fish from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Northwest Territories, and part of Northwestern Ontario. Internationally and Inter-provincially markets freshwater fish.

Food inspection: Canadian Foods Inspection Agency
Delivers inspection and quarantine programs related to foods, plants and animals in 18 regions and 160 field offices across Canada. It’s mandate is to safeguard Canada’s food supply and the plants and animals upon which safe and high-quality food depends.

Grain: Canadian Grain Commission
The regulator of Canada’s grain handling industry. The agency that certifies the quality and quantity of Canadian grain shipments. The CGC protects the rights of Canadian grain producers when they deliver their grain to licensed grain handling companies and grain dealers.

Hazardous materials: Hazardous Materials Information Commission
An arm’s length administrative agency that helps safeguard both workers and trade secrets in Canada’s chemical industry. Registers claims for trade secret exemptions and issues registry numbers. Complaints and disputes are resolved through statutory or alternate means.

Intellectual Property:Canadian Intellectual Property Office
An agency with Industry Canada, the Office is responsible for the administration and processing of intellectual property in Canada, including: patents, trademarks, copyrights, industrial design, and integrated circuit topographies. Manages the Trade-marks Opposition Board, which is an administrative tribunal that acts on behalf of the Registrar of Trade-marks.

Medicines: Patented Medicine Prices Review Board
Protects consumers by ensuring prices charges prices charged by manufacturers for patented medicines are not excessive.

Nuclear safety: Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
Protects the health, safety and security of Canadians as well as the environment, and respects Canada’s international commitments on the peaceful use of nuclear energy. CNSC’s tribunal reviews applications for licences according to regulatory requirements, makes recommendations to the Commission, and enforces compliance with the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, regulations, and any licence conditions imposed by the Commission.

Official languages: Office of the Commissioner of the Official Languages for Canada
Ensures that federal institutions and other organizations subject to the Official Languages Act administer their affairs according to the spirit and the letter of the Act. Investigates complaints and recommends appropriate corrective measures for issues brought against federal institutions and other organizations.

Pension plans: Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
A professional investment management organization whose purpose is to invest the assets of the Canada Pension Plan in a way that maximizes returns without undue risk of loss. Operates independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm’s length from the federal and provincial governments that are jointly responsible for the CPP.

Pilotage (Great Lakes): Great Lakes Pilotage Authority
Establishes, operates, maintains, and administers in the interest of safety, an efficient pilotage service within the Great Lakes region for commercial vessels. The Authority prescribes tariffs of pilotage charges that are fair, reasonable, and consistent with providing revenues sufficient to permit the Authority to operate on a self-sustaining financial basis.

Public service: Public Service Commission
Oversees integrity of staffing in the Public Service and the political impartiality of public servants.

Radio and television: Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission
An independent agency responsible for regulating and supervising Canada’s broadcasting and telecommunications systems. Guided by the Broadcasting Act, the CRTC regulates over 2000 broadcasters. Guided by the Telecommunications Act, the CRTC also regulates over 80 telecommunications carriers.

Savings insurance: Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation
Monitors the health of banks, trust companies, loan companies and associations governed by the Cooperative Credit Associations Act that are CDIC members. Works with the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), at the first sign of a problem in a member institution. CDIC insures Canadians’ savings in case their bank fails or goes bankrupt.

Trade competition: Competition Bureau
Headed by the Commissioner of Competition, the Competition Bureau is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, the Textile Labelling Act, and the Precious Metals Marking Act. It is an independent agency that protects and promotes competitive markets.

Provincial

Consumer protection: Business Practices and Consumer Protection Authority
Responds to inquiries and complaints from BC consumers and businesses.

Financial: Financial Institutions Commission
A regulatory agency of the provincial Ministry of Finance, FICOM is responsible for administering 10 statutes that regulate the pension, financial services and real estate sectors in British Columbia.

Forestry: Forest Practices Board
Considers complaints related to issues such as planning, forest practices, range plans and practices, protection of resources, and industry compliance, and government enforcement of the legislation; makes recommendations for improved practices.

Passenger transportation: Passenger Transportation Board
Regulates passenger directed vehicles, such as taxis, buses, limousines, and shuttle buses.

Securities: BC Securities Commission
The independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating securities trading in BC through the administration of the Securities Act. Regulates to protect investors and market integrity: Imposes requirements, provides guidance, monitors compliance and demands corrective action, takes enforcement action and educates market participants and investors.

Utilities: BC Utilities Commission
An independent regulatory agency of the Provincial Government that operates under and administers the Utilities Commission Act. The Commission regulates BC’s natural gas and electricity utilities. The Commission also regulates intra-provincial pipelines and universal compulsory automobile insurance.