Federal Post
CHRT Seeks Feedback on Rules of Procedure to be Developed Under New Pay Equity Act
Date: March 25, 2020
The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) is seeking feedback on specific questions related to the development of the Rules of Procedure under the federal Pay Equity Act (Act), which is expected to come into force sometime in 2020.
The CHRT has postponed a stakeholder consultation in light of COVID-19 and is stating that any feedback on the questions listed in its Discussion Paper by April 30, 2020 would be most helpful.
By way of background, the Act will apply to the federal public and private sectors, parliamentary workplaces, and the Prime Minister’s and ministers’ offices. It gives the CHRT a referral mandate (to consider an important question of law or jurisdiction referred to it by the Pay Equity Commissioner) and an appeal mandate (to consider decisions rendered by the Commissioner).
The CHRT is seeking feedback on the development of its Rules of Procedure with respect to a number of questions relating to the following:
- Format
In addition to its new mandate under the Act, the CHRT will also have an appellate role under the Accessible Canada Act. Among other questions, it is seeking input on whether it should develop standalone Rules of Procedure for each of the two statutes, have joint Rules for the two appellate/referral mandates, or rather, whether new rules specific to each should be added to the CHRT’s existing Rules of Procedure.
- Pre-Hearing Procedures
The CHRT is seeking feedback on alternative dispute resolution issues and general pre-hearing procedures.
- Hearing Referrals and Appeals
The CHRT has posed a number of questions on the scope of the referral and hearings process, including whether a timeline for scheduling a hearing should be set by the Rules, whether hearings should take place by video or tele-conference, whether some appeals should take place through written submissions, whether a process should be established for granting status at an appeal hearing for interested parties, and more.
- General
The CHRT is asking, among other things, whether there should be a rule regarding the withdrawal of appeals and referrals, how challenges or roadblocks faced in other proceedings can be avoided, whether there should be a rule to hold an appeal in abeyance pending negotiation, and more.
Please send your input on the questions posed in the Discussion Paper by April 30, 2020 to: chrt-tcdp-information@tribunal.gc.ca
Please contact Carolyn Kay at 416.864.7313, Lauri Reesor at 416.864.7288, or Stephanie Jeronimo at 416.864.7350 should you require more information or should you need assistance in drafting submissions.
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