IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION UNDER CHAPTER ELEVEN OF THE NORTH
AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT AND THE 1976 UNCITRAL ARBITRATION RULES
between
RESOLUTE FOREST PRODUCTS INC.
Claimant
and
GOVERNMENT OF CANADA
Respondent
(PCA CASE NO. 2016-13)
ARBITRAL TRIBUNAL:
Judge James R. Crawford, AC (President)
Dean Ronald A. Cass
Dean Céline Lévesque
March 23, 2018
[Page 1]
1.1 The Tribunal issued its Decision on Jurisdiction and Admissibility on January 30, 2018.
1.2 Following an invitation by the Tribunal to consult on next steps, the Disputing Parties informed the Tribunal on March 16, 2018 that they had agreed on a schedule for the merits and damages phase. The agreed schedule incorporates two rounds of simultaneous document production. The Disputing Parties informed the Tribunal that they had agreed to this procedure with the “understanding that the second document production should be narrow and tailored.” They further agreed that each request “should be the consequence of the pleadings and should identify with precision a statement, claim, or argument in the other Disputing Party's pleading that warrants further discovery or additional documents.”
2.1 The Tribunal approves the schedule agreed by the Disputing Parties for the Merits and Damages Phase, which shall be as follows:
| Procedural Step | Time Period | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. | Tribunal's Procedural Order on the schedule for the Merits and Damages Phase | March 23, 2018 | |
| B. | Exchange of requests for the production of documents | 28 days | April 20, 2018 |
| C. | Objections to requests for the production of documents | 28 days | May 18, 2018 |
| D. | Responses to objections to requests for the production of documents | 21 days | June 8, 2018 |
| E. | Production of documents in response to undisputed document requests | 14 days | June 22, 2018 |
| F. | Submission of Redfern Schedule for disputed document requests / application to the Tribunal for Order on disputed requests for the production of documents | 7 days | June 29, 2018 |
[Page 2]
| Procedural Step | Time Period | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| G. | Tribunal's Order on the production of documents | 21 days | July 20, 2018 |
| H. | Production of documents as ordered by the Tribunal | 28 days | August 17, 2018 |
| I. | Claimant's Memorial on the Merits and Damages | 60 days | October 16, 2018 |
| J. | Respondent's Counter-Memorial on the Merits and Damages | 62 days | December 17, 2018 |
| K. | Exchange of additional requests for the production of documents. Each additional request should be the consequence of the pleadings and should identify with precision a statement, claim, or argument in the other Disputing Party's pleading that warrants further discovery or additional documents. | 30 days | January 16, 2019 |
| L. | Objections to additional requests for the production of documents | 14 days | January 30, 2019 |
| M. | Production of documents in response to undisputed additional document requests Responses to objections to disputed additional document requests |
14 days | February 13, 2019 |
| N. | Submission of Redfern Schedule for disputed document requests/ application to the Tribunal for Order on disputed requests for the production of documents | 7 days | February 20, 2019 |
| O. | Tribunal's Order on the production of additional documents | 14 days | March 6, 2019 |
| P. | Production of additional documents as ordered by the Tribunal | 14 days | March 20, 2019 |
| Q. | Claimant's Reply Memorial on the Merits and Damages | 30 days | April 19, 2019 |
[Page 3]
| Procedural Step | Time Period | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R. | Respondent's Rejoinder Memorial on the Merits and Damages | 45 days | June 3, 2019 |
| S. | NAFTA Article 1128 Submissions and Amici Submissions/Applications | 30 days | July 3, 2019 |
| T. | Disputing Parties' comments in response to Article 1128 Submissions and Amici Submissions/Applications | 30 days | August 2, 2019 |
| U. | Pre-hearing conference and List of Issues to the Disputing Parties per Article 22 of Procedural Order No. 1 | 30 days before V (approx.) | TBD |
| V. | Hearing on the Merits and Damages | TBD | TBD |
2.2 As agreed by the Parties, each document production request should be the consequence of the pleadings and should identify with precision a statement, claim, or argument in the other Disputing Party's pleading that warrants further discovery or additional documents.
Date: March 23, 2018
For the Arbitral Tribunal
Signature
Judge James R. Crawford, AC