Canadian International Trade Tribunal members decide the outcome of proceedings. They are impartial and independent, and make decisions based on the applicable legislation and the evidence before them.
The Tribunal may be composed of up to seven full-time permanent members, including a chairperson and vice-chairperson. The chairperson assigns cases to members and manages the Tribunal’s work. Permanent members are appointed by the Governor in Council for a term of up to five years, which can be renewed once. Up to five temporary members may also be appointed. Members have a variety of educational backgrounds and work experience.
Frédéric Seppey is the Chairperson of the Tribunal. Bree Jamieson-Holloway is the Vice-Chairperson of the Tribunal. The other permanent members of the Tribunal are Cheryl Beckett, Georges Bujold, Susan Beaubien, Susana May Yon Lee and Elizabeth Whitsitt. Serge Fréchette, Randy W. Heggart and Eric Wildhaber serve as temporary members.
Ethics and accountability are essential to a justice system that works for Canadians. The Code of Conduct for members of the Tribunal describes what we expect of our members. It lists the standards of behaviour that members have to follow as fair and impartial decision makers.
Chairperson: Frédéric Seppey
Frédéric Seppey
Frédéric Seppey was appointed as the Chairperson of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal on January 4, 2021.
Prior to his appointment to the Tribunal, Mr. Seppey was the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Market and Industry Services Branch at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. In this role, he led the team responsible for agriculture and agri-food business development and trade policy within the department.
From 2013 to 2018, as Canada’s Chief Agriculture Negotiator, he led several international agricultural trade negotiations. He was also responsible for Canada’s compliance with its rights and obligations under World Trade Organization trade agreements with respect to agricultural issues and products, and for managing disputes on agricultural issues.
Throughout his career, Mr. Seppey has held various positions of increasing responsibility in the public service, including at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Global Affairs Canada and the Treasury Board Secretariat.
He has a Bachelor of Economics from the Université de Montréal and a Master of Economics from Queen’s University.
Vice-Chairperson: Bree Jamieson-Holloway
Bree Jamieson-Holloway
Bree Jamieson-Holloway was appointed as Vice-Chairperson of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal on December 5, 2022.
Prior to joining the Tribunal, Ms. Jamieson-Holloway practised in London, England and Hong Kong, and is now based in Ottawa, where in 2017 she founded Jamieson Law, a boutique corporate law firm. She is a corporate lawyer qualified in Ontario, England and Wales.
Throughout her career, Ms. Jamieson-Holloway has garnered broad international business experience, working for and representing government, public and private sector companies, as well as global organizations in the areas of corporate finance and corporate/commercial practice. She previously worked for the renowned international law firm Gide Loyrette Nouel, where she practised out of their London and Hong Kong offices in corporate finance, handling high-value international transactions. Ms. Jamieson-Holloway has also provided extensive business and legal support and consultation services to businesses entering the Canadian market and establishing operations in Canada for the first time.
She is a mentor to young women entrepreneurs and commits considerable time to guiding organizations to foster true inclusion and champion diversity.
Ms. Jamieson-Holloway holds a Bachelor of Criminology from the University of Ottawa. She also completed an international secondment on a scholarship to the University of Reading in England, where she studied International Relations and Business. She completed her Bachelor of Laws at the University of Law in London, England.
Permanent members
Cheryl Beckett
Cheryl Beckett was reappointed as a Member of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal on November 24, 2023.
She has been a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada since 1995, and practised law in private practice and as in-house counsel, primarily in the high-tech sector in Ottawa. Prior to her appointment to the Tribunal, Ms. Beckett served as legal counsel to Juniper Networks Canada Inc., as Director of Contracts and Corporate Affairs for BTI Systems Inc., as Executive Vice-President Legal and Corporate Secretary for March Networks Corporation, and as corporate counsel to Mitel Networks Corporation and Nortel Networks Limited. Before that she was an associate with both Labarge Weinstein LLP in Ottawa and Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP in Toronto.
Ms. Beckett holds a Bachelor of Arts in History/Political Science from the University of Saskatchewan and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Toronto.
Georges Bujold
Georges Bujold was reappointed as a Member of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal on November 24, 2023.
Prior to joining the Tribunal, he served as Executive Director and General Counsel to Occupational Health and Safety Tribunal Canada and as counsel to the Canadian International Trade Tribunal. He also practised international trade and investment law in the private sector for many years as an Associate and Senior Associate with Thomas & Partners.
Throughout his career, Mr. Bujold has provided advice on a wide range of matters, including rights and obligations under major international trade agreements, government procurement, customs law and administrative law. He has also acted as counsel in international dispute settlement proceedings.
Mr. Bujold is a member of the Quebec Bar and holds a Master of International Relations, a Bachelor of Laws and an undergraduate degree in public communication from Laval University.
Susan Beaubien
Susan Beaubien was reappointed as a Member of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal on March 21, 2024.
Prior to joining the Tribunal, Ms. Beaubien practised as a lawyer for more than 30 years in intellectual property litigation, administrative law and federal regulatory law, particularly for the pharmaceutical industry. She is a registered patent and trademark agent, a trained mediator and arbitrator, and an experienced corporate director of non-profit entities. Ms. Beaubien is also a member of numerous professional organizations and has taught and given speeches and presentations on a wide range of topics pertaining to intellectual property law.
In February 2018, she was appointed as a roster member of the dispute resolution binational panels convened under Chapter 19 of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Ms. Beaubien holds an Honours Bachelor of Science degree from Mount Allison University and a Bachelor of Laws from Queen’s University.
Susana May Yon Lee
Susana May Yon Lee was appointed as a Member of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal on January 29, 2024.
Prior to her appointment to the Tribunal, she practised law as a partner at Cassidy Levy Kent (Canada) LLP. In her legal practice, she was ranked by Chambers Canada and The Legal 500 in international trade.
Ms. Lee is qualified as a lawyer in Ontario, New York State, and Washington, D.C., and is a certified customs specialist with experience in trade remedies, customs and government procurement matters. She also has expertise in regulatory law matters and in Canada’s trade controls, including export and import controls, economic sanctions and defence related controlled goods.
She served as Chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s International Law Section, and she is a former board member of the Ontario Bar Association.
Ms. Lee previously interned with the Tribunal, where she focused on various customs issues, such as analyzing tariff classifications and the value for duty of imported goods.
She holds joint Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration degrees (magna cum laude) from the University of Ottawa and a Bachelor of Arts and Science (First-Class Honours) from McGill University.
Elizabeth Whitsitt
Elizabeth Whitsitt was appointed as a Member of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal on October 7, 2024.
Prior to her appointment to the Tribunal, she was an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Calgary. Her research focused on the intersection of trade law and investment arbitration, with a specialization on the role that adjudicators play between international trade and international investment law regimes.
Ms. Whitsitt was part of a pan-Canadian research team analyzing dispute settlement mechanisms in international economic law, a project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). She was also the recipient of an SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship, Killam Memorial Scholarship, and the Marc Lalonde Prize for Excellence in International and Commercial Arbitration.
She is a member of the Law Society of Alberta, the American Society of International Law, and the European Society of International Law. She is currently a member of Canada’s Roster for the Canada United States Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) Chapter 10 Panels and serves on CUSMA’s Joint Public Advisory Committee to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation.
Ms. Whitsitt holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, a law degree and a PhD in International Economic Law from the University of Calgary, and a Master of Laws in International Legal Studies from New York University.
Temporary members
Serge Fréchette
Serge Fréchette was appointed as a temporary Member of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal on November 3, 2014. He was reappointed as a part-time temporary Member for a two-year term, starting on June 10, 2025.
Mr. Fréchette served as Vice-Chairperson of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal from 2006 to 2014. During that period, he also served as a panellist on several dispute settlement matters before the World Trade Organization and represented Canada and other parties on several matters.
Since then and until his recent appointment to the Tribunal, he returned to the private sector where he provided advisory services to various clients on matters related to international trade, investment and regulatory affairs. He also provided advice on matters that relate to administrative justice and good governance. During this period, he also served as a temporary Member of the Tribunal during two separate terms.
Prior to his initial appointment to the Tribunal, Mr. Fréchette was a senior official with the departments of Justice and Foreign Affairs and International Trade. He was involved in several important government initiatives, including the negotiation and implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization. In 1997, he became a partner in a boutique law firm specializing in international trade, investment and regulatory matters, and later founded his own firm in the same areas of practice.
Mr. Fréchette has also served as an adjunct professor in the Law Faculty at the University of Ottawa.
Randolph W. Heggart
Randolph W. Heggart was reappointed as a temporary full-time Member of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal on April 12, 2024, after a five-year term as a permanent Member.
In 2014 Mr. Heggart was the last Secretary of the Tribunal. During this time he assisted in the transition of the secretariat function to the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada.
After beginning his career in the private sector, he joined the federal public service in the Department of Transport in 1982. Mr. Heggart was appointed Director, Research and Analysis at the Procurement Review Board of Canada, whose mandate was later transferred to the Tribunal. He has also worked in investment trade policy at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and in research and policy at the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Mr. Heggart holds a Bachelor of Engineering and a Master of Business Administration, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Forensic Accounting and Fraud Investigation.
Eric Wildhaber
Eric Wildhaber was appointed as a temporary Member of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal for a three-year term beginning on July 25, 2022. He was reappointed as a temporary Member for another three-year term, starting on July 25, 2025.
Prior to joining the Tribunal, Mr. Wildhaber gained many years of experience as a lawyer and executive in the federal public service. Most of his career has been spent at the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (including as Secretary of the Tribunal). He also worked at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Natural Resources Canada, and the Occupational Health and Safety Tribunal Canada.
Mr. Wildhaber has lectured on public procurement law at the University of Ottawa (Section de droit civil) and has been a member of the Committee for Access to the Profession of the Barreau du Québec. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (History), and a Juris Doctor (Common Law) from the University of Ottawa, and a Bachelor of Laws (Civil Law) from the Université de Montréal.