Evidence of meeting #142 for Official Languages in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was atssc.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Jean Rioux Liberal Saint-Jean, QC
As a general rule, is there a maximum time limit for rendering a judgment?
Chief Administrator, Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada
It varies from court to court. For some, a time limit is set out in their legislation, while for others, that isn't the case. It's really case by case.
Liberal
Jean Rioux Liberal Saint-Jean, QC
Right.
Lastly, can people appeal a decision to a common law court?
Chief Administrator, Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada
When there is a right of appeal, the appeal is usually made either to the Federal Court or to the Federal Court of Appeal.
Liberal
Jean Rioux Liberal Saint-Jean, QC
Okay.
That's it for me. I can share my time with Ms. Fortier. I know she had some questions.
Liberal
Mona Fortier Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Thank you for being with us, Ms. Pelletier.
I have two questions, which are open-ended. You'll understand why. I think that, with your experience and expertise, you can contribute to our current study on the possibility of creating an administrative tribunal.
Are there any issues you think we should look into, as legislators, to determine whether we should create an administrative tribunal?
Chief Administrator, Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada
It isn't something I've been thinking about. In my role—
Chief Administrator, Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada
Yes, indeed, but you'll understand that my organization's role is primarily operational. We don't have a team of policy analysts who study issues like this. So thinking about these issues isn't part of our organization's mandate. That's why I haven't had the opportunity to address a subject like this.
Chief Administrator, Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada
Okay.
Liberal
Mona Fortier Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
So I'm going to ask you my second question. We're wondering whether it would be useful to create an administrative tribunal and, in doing so, we will consider the advantages and disadvantages. Are there any advantages or constraints among what currently exists that we should consider? For example, should we learn from an experience such as the Social Security Tribunal of Canada? If not, should we include the positive aspects of some administrative tribunals in our decision-making filter?
Chief Administrator, Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada
In general, the administrative tribunal community is currently engaged in a major reflection on the modernization of processes and the use of technology, while maintaining a focus on access to justice.
The choice to create an administrative tribunal is usually based on the desire to provide a more flexible mechanism than is the case with a court of law. The administrative justice community is seriously considering new models for conflict resolution—if you want to call it that—or complaints, which would make greater use of new technologies, among other things.
Liberal
Mona Fortier Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
I just thought of one last question. Is there a periodic evaluation of the mandate of these courts, for example, every three or five years? You were talking about modernization, but is it possible to revise the mandate set out in an act or regulation?
Chief Administrator, Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada
The enabling legislation of some of our courts includes an obligation to review their mandates, for example, every five years or, at the very least, within the first five years of the court's existence.
Chief Administrator, Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada
In Ontario, on the other hand, legislation was passed about ten years ago to govern the operation—if you want to call it that—of administrative tribunals. This legislation requires a court to review its operation periodically—every seven years if I recall correctly—and to amend it if necessary. I think I remember that this review must include certain elements, set out in the legislation. However, it has been a while since I read it, and I advise you to go and read it yourself.
Liberal
Conservative
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île dOrléans—Charlevoix, QC
Thank you for being here, Ms. Pelletier. Your testimony is very interesting.
Have I understood correctly that the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada has been around for five years now?
Chief Administrator, Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada
Conservative
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île dOrléans—Charlevoix, QC
It's only been five years, and you're already wondering how to do better. You say that you want to “champion a culture of service excellence, innovation and continuous improvement”.
Of all the courts you deal with, is there one that stands out in trying to keep up with technology and all the new developments that are coming?
Also, can you tell us if the creation of an administrative tribunal really relieves the judicial system?
Chief Administrator, Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada
I don't think I can give a definitive answer to your second question, because it would first require a fairly complete analysis of the field of administrative justice.
As for what stands out, I would say that each of the courts is trying interesting ways to better manage its workload. However, given the significant differences between the mandates of each, a solution that works for one court wouldn't necessarily be appropriate for another. So it's difficult to make comparisons of this nature, but it's clear that each court wishes to modernize its activities and is making efforts in this direction.
Conservative
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île dOrléans—Charlevoix, QC
In the case of official languages, it's often “always the sames” that we've seen pass through this committee over the past 10 years, whether it's Air Canada or other departments. The situation doesn't change.
Over the past five years, have these administrative tribunals led to major changes in the machinery of government? Has the expertise of your various courts helped to improve the situation?
Chief Administrator, Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada
I don't know if that was the objective of creating our service.
Most of the courts we work with on a daily basis have existed for a long time. There are two or three that are more recent, but there are some that have been around for 25 or 30 years.
So, the idea wasn't to change the functioning of the courts or their mandate. It was simply to create an organization that would bring together the support services so that these courts could focus on their tasks, which they alone can accomplish. These are the mandates assigned to them in their enabling legislation.
There are three main reasons for the creation of our service. First, we wanted to find efficiencies through economies of scale. That is the reason everyone remembers because it was a budgetary measure, therefore associated with money. Second, the needs of the courts had to be met in order for them to carry out their mandates. Finally, it was an attempt to improve access to justice. Obviously, this is not our exclusive role; we support courts that want to make improvements in this area.
Our mandate isn't to change the structure of administrative justice. We are helping the tribunals to operate.
