Canada. General Adjustment Assistance Board : The General Adjustment Assistance Board (GAAB) was created May 1968, reporting to the Minister of Industry and with a secretariat in the Department of Industry. The board was composed of members of private industry (including the chair) and representatives from the Departments of Industry; Finance; Trade and Commerce; and Manpower and Immigration.
The board was responsible for administering the General Adjustment Assistance Program (GAAP), which was first announced December 1967 as a reaction to the completion of the Kennedy Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The program was intended to help Canadian manufacturers take advantage of export opportunities arising from the changes to tariffs resulting from the Kennedy Round. Three types of assistance were available under GAAP: insurance against the risk of loss; direct loans; and grants.
When the Department of Industry was succeeded by the Department of Industry, Trade and Commerce in April 1969, the General Adjustment Assistance Board's responsibilities and secretariat were also transferred to the new department.
In June 1971, GAAB became responsible for administering automotive manufacturing assistance that had previously been the responsibility of the Automotive Adjustment Assistance Board.
In 1973, GAAP was extended and expanded to include all manufacturers wishing to restructure their operations, regardless of any link to specific impacts of the Kennedy Round.
Beginning April 1, 1977, the Department of Industry, Trade and Commerce restructured several of its development and incentive programs, including GAAP, under a new Enterprise Development Program (EDP). As a result, many of the responsibilities of GAAB were succeeded at that time by the Enterprise Development Board (EDB).
