Jinny Sims on Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

With regard to the Social Security Tribunal: (a) what is the recruitment and hiring budget for fiscal year (i) 2014-15, (ii) 2013-14, (iii) 2012-13; (b) when is the Tribunal expected to be fully staffed; (c) have any appointees left their positions and if so, how many; (d) who is responsible for deciding whether to hire part-time members, what criteria will that decision be based on, and what steps must be taken for that decision to be made; (e) how many Appeal Division members are (i) English speakers, (ii) French speakers, (iii) bilingual; (f) how many Income Security Section members are (i) English speakers, (ii) French speakers, (iii) bilingual; (g) how many Employment Insurance Section members are (i) English speakers, (ii) French speakers, (iii) bilingual; (h) how is workload allocated among members; (i) is region taken into account in assigning cases to members; (j) what kind of performance standards are members expected to meet; (k) when will the Tribunal finalize its policies and procedures and will it make them public immediately; (l) when will the Tribunal finalize its timelines and standards and will it make them public immediately; (m) what is the Tribunal doing to integrate feedback from stakeholders and appellants in its policies, procedures and standards; (n) what kind of office budget is available for members who are not located in Ottawa; (o) what kind of appeal process is available to appellants who would like to have a hearing conducted in person but are told their hearing will take place in writing or over the phone; (p) what kind of medical expertise is required of members who will be assigned Canada Pension Plan Disability Benefit cases; (q) what kind of training in medical issues is being provided to members who will be assigned Canada Pension Plan Disability Benefit cases; (r) what kind of training is being provided to members on local labour market conditions around the country; (s) what kind of sensitivity training is being provided to members to assist them in dealing with members of the public in difficult financial circumstances; (t) what is the Tribunal’s policy and standard practice regarding Third Party representatives; (u) will the selected decisions posted on the Tribunal’s website be searchable by keywords; (v) how frequently will the selected decisions posted on the Tribunal’s website be updated; (w) how many people are employed as administrative support staff for the Tribunal, how many people does the Tribunal intend to employ as administrative support staff when the Tribunal is fully staffed, and what is the budget for administrative support; (x) how many Tribunal members are receiving a salary (i) between $90,000 and $105,000, (ii) between $105,000 and $125,000; and (y) how are funds from the Employment Insurance Fund and Canada Pension Plan Fund being allocated to cover the costs of employment insurance and Canada Pension Plan appeals?