Department of Employment and Social Development Act (S.C. 2005, c. 34)

Marginal note:Grounds of appeal

• 58 (1) The only grounds of appeal are that

  • (a) the General Division failed to observe a principle of natural justice or otherwise acted beyond or refused to exercise its jurisdiction;

  • (b) the General Division erred in law in making its decision, whether or not the error appears on the face of the record; or

  • (c) the General Division based its decision on an erroneous finding of fact that it made in a perverse or capricious manner or without regard for the material before it.

• Marginal note:Criteria

  (2) Leave to appeal is refused if the Appeal Division is satisfied that the appeal has no reasonable chance of success.

• Marginal note:Decision

  (3) The Appeal Division must either grant or refuse leave to appeal.

• Marginal note:Reasons

  (4) The Appeal Division must give written reasons for its decision to grant or refuse leave and send copies to the appellant and any other party.

• Marginal note:Leave granted

  (5) If leave to appeal is granted, the application for leave to appeal becomes the notice of appeal and is deemed to have been filed on the day on which the application for leave to appeal was filed.

Marginal note:Decision

• 59 (1) The Appeal Division may dismiss the appeal, give the decision that the General Division should have given, refer the matter back to the General Division for reconsideration in accordance with any directions that the Appeal Division considers appropriate or confirm, rescind or vary the decision of the General Division in whole or in part.

• Marginal note:Reasons

  (2) The Appeal Division must give written reasons for its decision and send copies to the appellant and any other party.

General

Marginal note:Head office

• 60 (1) The head office of the Tribunal is in the National Capital Region described in the schedule to the National Capital Act or at any other place within Canada that may be designated by the Governor in Council.

• Marginal note:Residence

  (2) The Chairperson and the Vice-chairpersons must reside within the distance from the place referred to in subsection (1) that is determined by the Governor in Council.

Marginal note:Services and facilities

• 60.1 (1) The Minister may provide the Chief Administrator of the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada with any administrative services and facilities that are necessary to enable him or her to provide support services and facilities to the Tribunal.

• Marginal note:Spending authority

  (2) The Minister may spend revenues obtained from the provision of services and facilities to the Chief Administrator, in the fiscal year in which they are received or, unless an appropriation Act provides otherwise, in the next fiscal year.

Marginal note:Tribunal sittings

61 Every application to the Tribunal is to be heard before a single member.

Marginal note:Tribunal hearings

62 All or part of a Tribunal hearing may be held in private if the Tribunal is of the opinion that the circumstances of the case so require.

Marginal note:Expenses and allowances

• 63 (1) Any party who is required to attend a hearing may, if the Chairperson in any particular case for special reasons considers it warranted, be reimbursed for their travel or living expenses up to the amounts determined by the Chief Administrator of the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada, or be paid any allowance, including compensation for lost remuneration, in accordance with the rates fixed by that Chief Administrator.

• Marginal note:Payments

  (2) Any amount to be paid under subsection (1) may be paid out of moneys appropriated by Parliament for the expenditures of the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada.

Marginal note:Powers of tribunal

• 64 (1) The Tribunal may decide any question of law or fact that is necessary for the disposition of any application made under this Act.

• Marginal note:Canada Pension Plan

  (2) Despite subsection (1), in the case of an application relating to the Canada Pension Plan, the Tribunal may only decide questions of law or fact as to

  • (a) whether any benefit is payable to a person or its amount;

  • (b) whether any person is eligible for a division of unadjusted pensionable earnings or its amount;

  • (c) whether any person is eligible for an assignment of a contributor’s retirement pension or its amount; and

  • (d) whether a penalty should be imposed under Part II of that Act or its amount.

• Marginal note:Employment Insurance Act

  (3) If a question specified in section 90 of the Employment Insurance Act arises in the consideration of an application, it must be determined by an authorized officer of the Canada Revenue Agency, as provided by that section.

Marginal note:Canada Pension Plan

65 If, in the Minister’s opinion, a person in addition to the appellant may be directly affected by the decision of the Tribunal relating to any of the following appeals, the Minister must notify the Tribunal of all such persons, and the Tribunal must add as a party to the appeal any such person who is not already a party to it:

• (a) an appeal in respect of a survivor’s pension payable to the survivor of a deceased contributor within the meaning of the Canada Pension Plan;

• (b) an appeal in respect of a division of unadjusted pensionable earnings under section 55, 55.1 or 55.2 of the Canada Pension Plan; or

• (c) an appeal in respect of an assignment of a contributor’s retirement pension under section 65.1 of the Canada Pension Plan.

Marginal note:Amendment of decision

• 66 (1) The Tribunal may rescind or amend a decision given by it in respect of any particular application if

  • (a) in the case of a decision relating to the Employment Insurance Act, new facts are presented to the Tribunal or the Tribunal is satisfied that the decision was made without knowledge of, or was based on a mistake as to, some material fact; or

  • (b) in any other case, a new material fact is presented that could not have been discovered at the time of the hearing with the exercise of reasonable diligence.

• Marginal note:Time limit

  (2) An application to rescind or amend a decision must be made within one year after the day on which a decision is communicated to the appellant.

• Marginal note:Limit

  (3) Each person who is the subject of a decision may make only one application to rescind or amend that decision.

• Marginal note:Division

  (4) A decision is rescinded or amended by the same Division that made it.