ANNUAL REPORT 2017-2018 19 Phase 3 – Federal Court of Appeal Upholds the Tribunal’s Finding Regarding the Constitutionality of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Administrative Monetary Penalties Act Mario Côté inc. v. Canada (Attorney General), 2017 FCA 36 Before the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA), MCI abandoned the argument based on paragraph 11(d) of the Charter, focusing solely on the right to security of the person protected by section 7. The FCA found that none of the drivers who had provided affidavits describing the difficulties they had experienced in connection with the notices of violation received could argue that their economic viability or that of their household was endangered or that their psychological well-being was seriously harmed. In addition, the FCA held that purely economic interests, such as the right to work in the profession of one’s choice, are not protected by section 7 of the Charter. Phase 4 – Supreme Court of Canada Dismissal of the Application for Leave to Appeal Mario Côté inc. v.Attorney General of Canada, 2017 CanLII 75051 (SCC) On April 18, 2017, MCI filed an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC). However, on November 9, 2017, the SCC dismissed the application for leave to appeal, thus ending the constitutional challenge to the federal agriculture and agri-food administrative monetary penalty system. Phase 5 – The Tribunal Manages the Cases Placed in Abeyance At the time of the SCC decision, the Tribunal had 27 cases in abeyance. The Tribunal issued an order giving the applicants until January 19, 2018 to indicate whether they wished to proceed with their requests for review. A subsequent order was issued on March 7, 2018 to confirm the cases withdrawn by applicants as well as those withdrawn by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, to determine the admissibility of three cases, to join cases that could be heard together, and to set the deadlines for producing documents in all the remaining cases. Phase 6 – Scheduling of Hearings and Issuing of Decisions For the remaining eight cases, over the next fiscal year the Tribunal will invite the parties to case management confer- ences, organize hearings and render final decisions. Summary of Mario Coté inc. Cases Cases in abeyance 27 Withdrawal of notices of violation 2 Withdrawal by applicants 16 Cases proceeding by written submissions 1 Hearings 8