Patented Medicine Prices Review Board Rules of Practice and Procedure (SOR/2012-247)

Notice of Hearing

Marginal note:Signed notice of hearing

• 15 (1) Proceedings are initiated by issuance of a notice of hearing signed by the Secretary.

• Marginal note:Personal service

  (2) A notice of hearing must be served personally on the respondent, all concerned ministers and on any other person that the Board may direct, in accordance with Rule 11.

• Marginal note:Statement of allegation or notice of application

  (3) A notice of hearing must be accompanied by

  • (a) in the case of an allegation of a patented or protected medicine sold at an excessive price, a statement of allegation set out in consecutively numbered paragraphs containing the material facts, the allegations and the order sought by Board Staff in the proceeding; or

  • (b) in the case of an allegation of a failure to provide information and documents related to a patented or protected medicine, a notice of application set out in consecutively numbered paragraphs containing a statement of the relief sought by Board Staff, the grounds for the relief and the material facts on which Board Staff intends to rely.

Marginal note:Content of notice of hearing

• 16 (1) A notice of hearing issued by the Board must

  • (a) specify the date and time of the teleconference referred to in Rule 22;

  • (b) contain a statement of the purpose of the hearing;

  • (c) state that the hearing will be held in public unless, on representations made by a respondent, the Board is satisfied that specific, direct and substantial harm would be caused to the respondent by the disclosure of information or documents relating to the hearing;

  • (d) be accompanied by a schedule of events; and

  • (e) contain any other information that the Board considers appropriate.

• Marginal note:Public notice

  (2) The Secretary must give public notice of each hearing in the Canada Gazette and in any other manner that the Chairperson may direct.

Record of Proceeding

Marginal note:Contents

17 Subject to section 87 and subsection 88(4) of the Act, if the Board issues a notice of hearing, the Secretary must establish a record of the proceeding that includes

• (a) the notice of hearing;

• (b) any document filed with the Secretary by a party in relation to the proceeding;

• (c) any direction, decision, notice or order of the Board in relation to the proceeding;

• (d) the transcript of any pre-hearing conference;

• (e) the transcript of the hearing in relation to the proceeding; and

• (f) any other document or information that is directed by the Board to be placed on the record of the proceeding.

Response

Marginal note:Filing of response

• 18 (1) A respondent who wishes to oppose the making of an order sought by Board Staff that is set out in a statement of allegation or in a notice of application must, within 20 days after being served with the notice of hearing, file with the Secretary and serve on all other parties a response that is dated and signed by the respondent.

• Marginal note:Content of response

  (2) A response must be set out in consecutively numbered paragraphs and must include

  • (a) an admission or denial of each ground or material fact set out in the statement of allegation or notice of application;

  • (b) the grounds on which the proposed order is opposed and the material facts on which the respondent is relying;

  • (c) the name and address of the person on whom service of any document in relation to the proceeding may be effected.

• Marginal note:No response filed

  (3) If a respondent has not filed a response within the period set out in subsection (1), the Board may, where the Board is satisfied that a copy of the notice of hearing was served on the respondent and where the Board has received any evidence that it required the respondent to provide, make any finding and issue any order that the Board considers appropriate under section 83 of the Act.

Reply

Marginal note:Filing of reply

• 19 (1) If Board Staff wishes to reply to the response it must, within 20 days after being served with the response, file with the Board and serve on all other parties a reply that is dated and signed by Board Staff.

• Marginal note:Content of reply

  (2) A reply must be set out in consecutively numbered paragraphs and must set out an admission or denial of each ground or material fact that was set out in the response.

• Marginal note:No reply filed

  (3) If Board Staff does not file a reply, it is deemed to have denied each ground and each material fact alleged in the response.

Intervention

Marginal note:Motion for leave to intervene

• 20 (1) Any person who claims an interest in the subject-matter of a proceeding may, within any period and under any conditions that the Board may specify, bring a motion to the Board for leave to intervene in the proceeding.

• Marginal note:Content of motion for leave to intervene

  (2) A motion for leave to intervene must set out

  • (a) the name and address of the proposed intervener and of any counsel representing the intervener;

  • (b) a concise statement of the nature of the proposed intervener’s interest in the hearing and the reasons the intervention is necessary;

  • (c) a concise statement of the facts upon which the motion is based; and

  • (d) the issues that the proposed intervener intends to address.

• Marginal note:Filing of motion

  (3) A motion for leave to intervene must be filed with the Board and served on the parties in accordance with Rule 10.

• Marginal note:Filing of representations

  (4) The parties who are served with a motion for leave to intervene may make submissions with respect to the motion by filing their submissions with the Board and serving a copy of the submissions on the person seeking leave to intervene.

• Marginal note:Factors considered by the Board

  (5) Subject to section 87 of the Act, if a person has moved to intervene in a proceeding, the Board may grant or deny the intervention and impose any conditions or restrictions on the intervention that it determines to be appropriate after considering relevant factors, including

  • (a) whether the person has an interest in the proceeding that is sufficient to warrant the intervention;

  • (b) whether the intervention will prejudice any party to the proceeding; and

  • (c) whether the intervention will interfere with the fair and expeditious conduct of the proceeding.

Appearance by Minister

Marginal note:Filing of notice of appearance

• 21 (1) A concerned minister who intends to appear and make representations with respect to a matter that is before the Board must, within 20 days after being served with the notice of hearing, file with the Board and serve on all parties a notice of appearance that is dated and signed by the concerned minister.

• Marginal note:Content of notice of appearance

  (2) A notice of appearance must set out the name and address of the individual on whom service of any document intended for the concerned minister may be effected and must be accompanied by

  • (a) a concise statement of the representations that the concerned minister intends to make and the material facts on which the concerned minister is relying, and

  • (b) a list of the documents that may be used in evidence to support the material facts on which the concerned minister is relying.

• Marginal note:No notice of appearance filed

  (3) A concerned minister who has not filed a notice of appearance within the period set out in subsection (1) need no longer be served by the parties.

Case Management Conference

Marginal note:Teleconference

22 The Secretary must convene a teleconference with counsel to be held no later than 45 days following the issuance of the notice of hearing for the purpose of

• (a) fixing the hearing schedule;

• (b) establishing the official language the parties wish to use during the proceeding;

• (c) discussing the filing of evidence by the parties;

• (d) considering the procedure to be followed and means of expediting the hearing, including determining whether written submissions will be submitted;

• (e) determining the expected duration of the hearing;

• (f) facilitating the exchange among the parties of information and documents to be submitted at the hearing; and

• (g) identifying other issues to be resolved.

Pre-hearing Conference

Marginal note:Purpose

• 23 (1) The parties must appear before the Board at the date, time and place fixed by the Board for a pre-hearing conference for the purpose of

  • (a) identifying or circumscribing the issues;

  • (b) allowing the Board to receive and consider representations referred to in subsection 86(1) of the Act and determine whether the hearing will be held in private; and

  • (c) resolving any other issue that may facilitate the conduct of the hearing.

• Marginal note:Teleconference or written submissions

  (2) The Board may direct that issues referred to in subsection (1) be addressed during a teleconference with the parties or in written submissions to be filed with the Secretary in any manner that the Board may determine.

• Marginal note:Filing and content of written submissions

  (3) The Board may require any party who participates in the pre-hearing conference to file and serve, at any time before or during the pre-hearing conference and in any manner that the Board may determine, a written submission setting out any information that the Board considers necessary to expedite the proceeding, including a concise statement of any procedural issues or questions on the merits that the party intends to raise at the hearing.

• Marginal note:Postponement, suspension or adjournment

  (4) The Board may, if necessary, postpone, suspend or adjourn and may reconvene a pre-hearing conference on any conditions that the Board considers appropriate.

Subpoenas

Marginal note:Issuance of subpoena

• 24 (1) In any proceeding, the Board may, on its own motion or on motion by a party, issue a subpoena for the attendance of witnesses and for the production or inspection of documents.

• Marginal note:Reasons for subpoena

  (2) If a party applies to the Board for a subpoena, the party must provide reasons in support of the issuance of the subpoena and must identify the person and documents or information to be named in the subpoena and their relevance to the proceeding.

• Marginal note:Subpoena signed and issued

  (3) A subpoena that is issued by the Board must be signed by the Secretary and served by the Board or the party who applied for the subpoena, as the case may be, by personal service in accordance with Rule 11 on the person summoned to appear before the Board, at least five days before the day fixed for that person’s appearance.

Motion for Interlocutory Relief

Marginal note:Notice of motion

• 25 (1) Interlocutory matters must be commenced by notice of motion.

• Marginal note:Content of notice of motion

  (2) A notice of motion must

  • (a) set out the relief sought, the grounds for the motion and the official language or languages that the moving party wishes to use at the hearing of the motion;

  • (b) be accompanied by an affidavit that sets out the facts on which the motion is based that do not appear on the record of the proceeding;

  • (c) be accompanied by written submissions that set out a summary of the points at issue, a concise statement of submissions, a concise statement of the order sought and a list of authorities to be referred to; and

  • (d) be signed and dated by the moving party.

• Marginal note:Filing requirements

  (3) The moving party must file the notice of motion and accompanying memorandum and affidavit with the Board and must serve a copy of each of them on each party in accordance with Rule 10.

• Marginal note:Hearing date

  (4) The date fixed for the hearing of a motion must not be earlier than two days after the date of service of the documents referred to in subsection (3).