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Bill 226, Fixing Tribunals Ontario Backlogs Act, 2024

Wong-Tam, Kristyn

Begum, Doly

Karpoche, Bhutila

Pasma, Chandra

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Status

Debates

Acts affected

Original

Bill 226 Original (PDF)

EXPLANATORY

NOTE

The

Bill makes amendments to the Adjudicative Tribunals

Accountability, Governance and Appointments Act, 2019 , the Human Rights Code and the Residential

Tenancies Act, 2006 .

Section

14 of the Adjudicative Tribunals Accountability,

Governance and Appointments Act, 2019 is re-enacted to require the

Public Appointments Secretariat to compile a publicly available list of

appointees and intended appointees to adjudicative tribunals that includes

certain information, including information about their attendance before the

Standing Committee on Government Agencies, and to prohibit the appointment or

reappointment of a person to an adjudicative tribunal without the approval of

the chair of the Tribunal. A new

section 22.1 of the Act provides for the

establishment of an Access to Justice Panel tasked with making recommendations

to the Attorney General with respect to enhancing the independence of

adjudicative tribunals and improving access to justice for people appearing

before adjudicative tribunals.

The

Human Rights Code and the Residential

Tenancies Act, 2006 are both amended to provide for Backlog Reduction

Panels, those being panels of adjudicators tasked with resolving cases at,

respectively, the Human Rights Tribunal and Landlord and Tenant Board. The Standing Committee

on Government Agencies is to determine the cases to be resolved by the Backlog

Reduction Panels. Each of the Backlog Reduction Panels is to be dissolved once

all cases referred to it have been resolved.

Bill 226 2024

Act to make changes to the appointments process for members of adjudicative

tribunals, to establish a panel to provide recommendations to the Attorney

General on matters relating to adjudicative tribunals and to provide for the

establishment of temporary panels to adjudicate matters before the Human Rights

Tribunal and the Landlord and Tenant Board

His

Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the

Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Adjudicative Tribunals Accountability,

Governance and Appointments Act, 2009

(1) Section 14 of the Adjudicative Tribunals

Accountability, Governance and Appointments Act, 2009 is repealed and

the following substituted:

Appointment to adjudicative tribunals

(1) The

selection process for the appointment of members, including executive chairs, chairs,

associate chairs and vice-chairs, to an adjudicative tribunal shall be a

competitive, merit-based process and the criteria to be applied in assessing

candidates shall include the following:

1. Experience,

knowledge or training in the subject matter and legal issues dealt with by the

tribunal.

2. Aptitude

for impartial adjudication.

3. Aptitude

for applying alternative adjudicative practices and procedures that may be set

out in the tribunal’s rules.

Tribunal-specific

qualifications

(2) If

a member of an adjudicative tribunal is required by or under any other Act to

possess specific qualifications, a person shall not be appointed to the

tribunal unless he or she possesses those qualifications.

Publication,

recruitment

(3) The

responsible minister of an adjudicative tribunal shall make public the

recruitment process to select one or more persons to be appointed to the

tribunal and in doing so shall specify,

(

a) the

steps intended to be taken in the recruitment process; and

(

b) the

skills, knowledge, experience, other attributes and specific qualifications

required of a person to be appointed.

Public

Appointment Secretariat

(4) The

Public Appointments Secretariat shall compile a publicly available list of all persons

who have been appointed to adjudicative tribunals and all intended appointees that

includes the following information:

1. The

name of the person.

2. The

position or positions to which they have been or will be appointed.

3. Brief

biographical information about the person.

4. The

term of the appointment or intended appointment.

Same

(5) The

list referred to in subsection (4) shall be updated weekly.

Additional

information

(6) If

an intended appointee is asked to appear before the Standing Committee on

Government Agencies, the Public Appointments Secretariat shall include in the information

required under subsection (4) the following information:

1. The

date of the appearance.

2. For

any intended appointee who was asked to appear before the Standing Committee

but did not do so, whether the intended appointee has provided a written

explanation for their failure to appear.

Chair

to approve appointments, reappointments

(7) No

person shall be appointed or reappointed to an adjudicative tribunal without

the approval of the chair of the tribunal following an assessment of the

person’s qualifications under subsections (1) and (2) and, in the case of a

reappointment, of the member’s performance of their duties on the tribunal.

Conflict

with other Acts, regulations

(8) In

the event of any conflict between this

section and a provision of another Act

or of a regulation made under another Act respecting the appointment of members

of an adjudicative tribunal, the provision of the other Act or regulation

prevails.

Transition

(9) Any

member of an adjudicative tribunal appointed before the day subsection 1 (1) of

the Improving Access to Justice Act, 2024 comes

into force remains a member of the adjudicative tribunal until the end of their

term.

(2) The

Act is amended by adding the following section:

Access

to Justice Panel

22.1

(1) The

Attorney General shall, no more than 60 days after the day this

section comes

into force, establish an Access to Justice Panel.

Composition

(2) The

Access to Justice Panel shall be composed of members with demonstrated subject

matter knowledge and dispute resolution expertise appointed by the Standing

Committee on Government Agencies.

Functions

(3) The

Access to Justice Panel shall make recommendations to the Attorney General with

respect to enhancing the independence of adjudicative tribunals and improving

access to justice for people appearing before adjudicative tribunals, including

recommendations with respect to the following:

1. Options

for the creation of an independent, arms-length Adjudicative Tribunal Justice

Council with a mandate to oversee the adjudicative tribunal system, including

oversight of the appointment and reappointment process.

2. Improving

access to in-person hearings and to virtual hearings for parties without

reliable internet access.

3. Improving

access to legal services for people appearing before adjudicative tribunals.

Same

(4) In

forming its recommendations, the Access to Justice Panel shall consult

stakeholders, including Legal Aid Ontario-funded community legal clinics and

the Administrative Justice

Section of the Ontario Bar Association.

Report

(5) On

or before the day that is six months after the day the Access to Justice Panel is established,

the Access

to Justice Panel

shall report its recommendations to the Attorney General.

Same

(6) The Attorney General

shall make the recommendations referred to in subsection (5) available to the

public no later than 30 days after the report is received.

Implementation

of recommendations

(7) On

or before the day that is 90 days after the day the Access to Justice Panel reports its

recommendations to the Attorney General under subsection (5), the Attorney

General shall inform the Assembly of the recommendations of the Access to Justice Panel that the Attorney

General recommends the Government of Ontario implement.

Same

(8) On or before the day that is one year after

the day the Attorney General informs the Assembly of the recommendations under

subsection (7),

the Attorney General shall report to the Assembly on the progress the Government of Ontario has made in implementing the

recommendations.

Remuneration

and expenses

(9) The

Lieutenant Governor in Council may determine the remuneration and expenses of

any person appointed under subsection (2).

Appropriation

required

(10) Subsection

(9) does not apply unless money has been appropriated by the Legislature for

the purpose of that subsection.

Human

Rights Code

The Human Rights Code is amended by adding the

following section:

Human

Rights Tribunal of Ontario Backlog Reduction Panel

45.10

(1) The Minister

shall, no more than 60 days after the day this

section comes into force,

establish a Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario Backlog Reduction Panel.

Composition

(2) The Human Rights Tribunal

of Ontario Backlog

Reduction Panel shall be composed of members with demonstrated knowledge of

human rights and dispute resolution expertise appointed by the Standing

Committee on Government Agencies.

Functions

(3) The

Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario Backlog Reduction Panel shall function as a

panel of adjudicators that resolves applications that have been filed with the

Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.

Same

(4) The

Standing Committee on Government Agencies shall determine criteria for determining

which cases are to be resolved by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario Backlog

Reduction Panel.

Term

(5) The

Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario Backlog Reduction Panel shall be dissolved

once all cases referred to it in accordance with subsection (4) are resolved.

Report

(6) On

or before the day that is six months after the day the Human Rights Tribunal

of Ontario Backlog

Reduction Panel is established, the

Minister shall report to the Assembly on the scope and caseload of the Human Rights Tribunal

of Ontario Backlog

Reduction Panel.

Reporting

(7) The

Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario Backlog Reduction Panel shall report directly

to the Attorney General.

Remuneration

and expenses

(8) The

Lieutenant Governor in Council may determine the remuneration and expenses of

any person appointed under subsection (2).

Appropriation

required

(9) Subsection

(8) does not apply unless money has been appropriated by the Legislature for

the purpose of that subsection.

Residential

Tenancies Act, 2006

The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 is amended by

adding the following section:

Landlord

and Tenant Board Backlog Reduction Panel

182.3.1

(1) The Attorney

General shall, no more than 60 days after the day this

section comes into

force, establish a Landlord and Tenant Board Backlog Reduction Panel.

Composition

(2) The

Landlord and Tenant Board Backlog Reduction Panel shall be composed of members with demonstrated

knowledge of residential tenancy law and dispute resolution expertise appointed

by the Standing Committee on Government Agencies.

Functions

(3) The

Landlord and Tenant Board Backlog Reduction Panel shall function as a panel of

adjudicators that resolves cases at the Landlord and Tenant Board.

Same

(4) The

Standing Committee on Government Agencies shall determine criteria for determining

which cases are to be resolved by the Landlord and Tenant Board Backlog

Reduction Panel.

Term

(5) The

Landlord and Tenant Board Backlog Reduction Panel shall be dissolved once all

cases referred to it in accordance with subsection (4) are resolved.

Reporting

(6) The Landlord and Tenant

Board Backlog Reduction Panel shall report directly to the Attorney General.

Remuneration

and expenses

(7) The

Lieutenant Governor in Council may determine the remuneration and expenses of

any person appointed under subsection (2).

Appropriation

required

(8) Subsection

(7) does not apply unless money has been appropriated by the Legislature for

the purpose of that subsection.

Commencement

This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short

title

The

short title of this Act is the Fixing Tribunals

Ontario Backlogs Act, 2024 .

Date Bill stage Event Outcome Committee

November 19, 2024

First Reading

Ordered for Second Reading

November 19, 2024

First Reading

Vote

Carried

First Reading

November 19, 2024

Carried

Ordered for Second Reading