| 3.1 Commencing an Appeal |
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(a) |
An appellant must commence an appeal by delivering a Notice of Appeal  (PDF - 48KB) in the specified form to the Tribunal
Chair within seven (7) business days of receipt of the minister's reconsideration consideration decision
(Employment and Assistance Act section 21(1) and Employment and Assistance Regulation, section 84). Notices of Appeal should be sent by mail or fax to the Tribunal. |
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(b) |
An appellant must indicate the date of receipt of the minister's reconsideration decision on the Notice of Appeal and this date will be accepted by the Tribunal unless there is evidence to contradict it. |
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(c) |
In order to determine if an appeal is commenced within seven (7) business days the Tribunal will consider the postmark or fax date of the Notice of Appeal. |
3.2 Screening of Appeals |
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(a) |
When the Tribunal receives a Notice of Appeal, it will be screened to determine whether: |
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(i) |
it complies with the specified form; |
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(ii) |
it is submitted within the required time limit; and |
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(iii) |
the Tribunal has jurisdiction over the appeal. |
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(b) |
Notice of Appeal That Does Not Comply With the Specified Form |
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(i) |
If the Notice of Appeal does not comply with the specified form, the Tribunal will return the Notice of Appeal to the appellant, indicate what information is missing, and require that information to be provided and returned to the Tribunal by the appellant within a specific time period. |
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(ii) |
If the Notice of Appeal is not provided and returned to the Tribunal with the requested information within the specified time period, the appellant is deemed to have accepted the minister's reconsideration decision and the Tribunal will notify the parties in writing accordingly. |
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(c) |
Notice of Appeal Received
Outside Time Limit |
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(i) |
If a Notice of Appeal is received by the Tribunal after the required time limit has expired, the party seeking to appeal will be deemed to have accepted the minister’s reconsideration decision and the Tribunal will notify the parties in writing. |
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(d) |
Notice of Appeal Relating to Matters Outside the Tribunal's Jurisdiction |
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(i) |
If the appeal relates to a matter that appears to be outside the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, the Tribunal will notify the parties in writing. |
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(ii) |
The Tribunal may invite the parties to make submissions on the Tribunal's jurisdiction. The Tribunal Chair will then determine, based on any submissions received, if the Tribunal has jurisdiction over the appeal and will notify the parties in writing of the decision. |
3.3 Appeal Record |
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(a) |
Upon receipt of a completed Notice of Appeal in the specified form, the Tribunal will ask the ministry to provide it with the appeal record. |
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(b) |
The Tribunal will produce bound copies of the appeal record received from the ministry, number the pages, and will deliver a copy to every party to the appeal and, with the appellant's consent, to the appellant's representative. |
3.4 Appointment of Panel |
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(a) |
If a completed Notice of Appeal is filed in the specified form and within the required time limits, the Tribunal Chair will, subject to paragraph (b), appoint a panel of three members to hear the appeal (Employment and Assistance Act section 22(1)) and will provide each member of the panel with a copy of the appeal record. |
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(b) |
The Tribunal may convene a panel of less than three members with the appellant's consent. |
3.5 Consolidation of Appeals Involving the Same Parties |
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(a) |
The Tribunal Chair may consolidate two or more appeals involving the same parties if the appeals involve substantially similar facts and each of the parties provides consent to the consolidation (Employment and Assistance Regulation section 86 (e)). |
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(b) |
In the event of a consolidation, only one hearing will occur. |
3.6 Hearing of Appeals Involving Different Parties Together |
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(a) |
The Tribunal Chair may direct that two or more appeals involving different parties be heard together if the appeals involve substantially similar facts and each of the parties agrees to the appeals being heard together (Employment and Assistance Regulation section 86(e)). |
