b'for review of administrative monetary penalties issuedalthough this year was supposed to mark the start of the bythePestManagementRegulatoryAgency.Thattransition to an electronic Tribunal with the implementa-agencyisresponsibleforregulatingpesticidestion of a new case management system, it did not hap-in Canada. pen. The fact that the ATSSC was unable to implement There is no denying that the cases before the Tribunalthat system and that it no longer provides support for will be even more complex because of the Tribunalsthe Tribunals old case management system means that newexpandedjurisdictionundertheSafeFoodforit has been technologically under-equipped for nearly Canadians Act. Also, we must not overlook the impacttwo years. This, in my view, is an unacceptable situation.of the coming into force of the new Health of AnimalsThissituationclearlyillustratestheexistingdichot-RegulationsinFebruary2020,whichwilldefinitelyomy between my responsibility and accountability for alter the current case law approaches at the Tribunaldelivering on the Tribunals mandate and the ATSSCs relating to animal cruelty. responsibilityforprovidingsupportservicestothe I am thrilled with the Tribunals accomplishments overTribunal. Central to this dichotomy is the lack of admin-the past year. Establishing a governance structure foristrative independence required for me to fully exercise reviewing reasons was one of my top priorities. Thethe Tribunals adjudicative function. After nearly three Code of Conduct, terms of reference for the Reviewyears as the Chairperson of the Tribunal, I note that CommitteeandaReasonsReviewPolicy,ensurethis lack of control has had a concrete impact on the that Tribunal members can exercise their duties andexercise of its duties, and Canadians right to effect-functions independently. In addition, after a thoroughive, expeditious handling of their requests for review. revision, I am extremely proud to publish early in theThus, as Chairperson, preserving the Tribunals admin-upcoming year a complete revision of the Tribunalsistrative autonomy is the greatest challenge I face.Practice Notices in plain language.I would like to conclude by thanking all the stake-LastfallalsosawMr.OrlandoDaSilvatakeofficeholdersintheCanadianfoodchain.Despitethis asthenewChiefAdministratoroftheAdministratorunprecedentedcrisis,wemustgiveatrulyheart- Tribunals Support Service of Canada (ATSSC). I wouldfelt thank you to farmers, producers and food proces-like to welcome him, and I very much hope that he willsors, transporters of animals, and all the workers in become the partner required for providing the humanthe industry who ensure that food products are available andfinancialresourceservicesneededtosupportin our grocery stores. In short, all these people see the Tribunal. The Tribunal needs stable and recurringto it that we have access to safe, high-quality food funding to manage its growth as well as technologicalcommodities every day.tools to innovate.Since my appointment, my vision has always been to transform the Tribunal into a modern, dynamic admin-istrativetribunalthroughtheuseofnewtechnolo-gies. Unfortunately, to date, the ATSSC has not been the desired partner for advancing that vision. In fact,Luc BlangerChairpersonANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020 3'