(Disponible en français)
There are two parts to the Rules of Procedure of the Social Benefits Tribunal. Part I is the Social Justice Tribunals Ontario (SJTO) Common Rules, which also apply in other tribunals within the SJTO. These came into effect on October 1, 2013.
Part II is the Social Benefits Tribunal (SBT) Specific Rules which apply only within the SBT. These Rules came into effect on January 1, 2016. The SBT Specific Rules apply to:
The Common Rules (Part I) and SBT Specific Rules (Part II) are to be read together.
Social Justice Tribunals Ontario (SJTO) is a cluster of eight adjudicative tribunals with a mandate to resolve applications and appeals under statutes relating to child and family services oversight, youth justice, human rights, residential tenancies, disability support and other social assistance, special education and victim compensation.
The SJTO is committed to providing quality dispute resolution across the cluster including ensuring that its procedures are transparent and understandable. Identifying common procedures and values across the SJTO and, where appropriate, harmonizing those procedures improves access to justice and fosters consistency in the application of fundamental principles of fairness.
These Common Rules are grounded in the core adjudicative values and principles of the SJTO which govern the work of the cluster. The Common Rules provide a consistent overarching framework of common procedures that will continue to evolve.
The Common Rules apply to the proceedings of the SJTO. The Common Rules form part of the rules of each SJTO tribunal.
"rules and procedures" includes rules, practice directions, policies, guidelines and procedural directions;
"tribunal" means any SJTO tribunal or board.
| A3.1 | The rules and procedures of the tribunal shall be liberally and purposively interpreted and applied to:
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| A3.2 | Rules and procedures are not to be interpreted in a technical manner. |
| A3.3 | Rules and procedures will be interpreted and applied in a manner consistent with the Human Rights Code. |
| A4.1 | The tribunal may exercise any of its powers at the request of a party, or on its own initiative, except where otherwise provided. |
| A4.2 | The tribunal may vary or waive the application of any rule or procedure, on its own initiative or on the request of a party, except where to do so is prohibited by legislation or a specific rule. |
| A5.1 | A party, representative, witness or support person is entitled to accommodation of Human Rights Code - Related Needs by the tribunal and should notify the tribunal as soon as possible if accommodation is required. |
| A6.1 | Individuals may provide written materials to the tribunal in either English or French. |
| A6.2 | Individuals may participate in tribunal proceedings in English, French, American Sign Language (ASL) or Quebec Sign Language (QSL). |
| A6.3 | A person appearing before the tribunal may use an interpreter. Interpretation services will be provided, upon request, in accordance with tribunal policy. |
| A7.1 | All persons participating in proceedings before or communicating with the tribunal must act in good faith and in a manner that is courteous and respectful of the tribunal and other participants in the proceeding. |
| A8.1 | The tribunal may make such orders or give such directions in proceedings before it as it considers proper to prevent abuse of its processes. |
| A8.2 | Where the tribunal finds that a person has persistently instituted vexatious proceedings or conducted a proceeding in a vexatious manner, the tribunal may find that person to be a vexatious litigant and dismiss the proceeding as an abuse of process for that reason. It may also require a person found to be a vexatious litigant to obtain permission from the tribunal to commence further proceedings or take further steps in a proceeding. |
| A9.1 | Parties may be self-represented, represented by a person licensed by the Law Society of Upper Canada or by an unlicensed person where permitted by the Law Society Act and its regulations and by-laws. |
| A9.2 | Individuals representing a party before a tribunal have duties to both the tribunal and the party they are representing. Representatives must provide contact information to the tribunal and be available to be contacted promptly. Representatives are responsible for conveying tribunal communications and directions to their client. Representatives should be familiar with tribunal rules and procedures, communicate the tribunal's expectations to their client, and provide timely responses to the other parties and the tribunal. |
| A9.3 | Where a representative begins or ceases to act for a client, the representative must immediately advise the tribunal and the other parties in writing, and provide up-to-date contact information for the party and any new representative. Where a representative ceases to act for a client the tribunal may issue directions to ensure fairness to all parties and to prevent undue delay of proceedings. |
| A9.4 | The tribunal may disqualify a representative from appearing before it where the representative's continued appearance would lead to an abuse of process. |
| A10.1 | This Rule applies where a person seeks to be a litigation guardian for a party. It does not apply where no litigation guardian is required as a result of the nature of the proceeding. |
| A10.2 | Persons are presumed to have the mental capacity to manage and conduct their case and to appoint and instruct a representative. |
Litigation Guardian Declarations |
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| A10.3 | A litigation guardian for a minor under the age of 18 is required to file a signed declaration in the form designated by the tribunal, confirming:
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| A10.4 | A litigation guardian for a person who lacks mental capacity to participate in the tribunal proceeding must file a signed declaration in the form designated by the tribunal, confirming:
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Naming and Removing a Litigation Guardian |
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| A10.5 | Upon the filing of a complete declaration as required by this Rule and unless refused or removed by the Tribunal, the person may act as litigation guardian for the party. |
| A10.6 | The Tribunal will review the declaration and may direct submissions by the parties on whether the litigation guardian should be refused pursuant to Rule A10.7. |
| A10.7 | Upon review of the declaration, or at any later time in the proceeding, the Tribunal may refuse or remove a litigation guardian on its own initiative or at the request of any person because:
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Responsibilities of Litigation Guardians |
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| A10.8 | A litigation guardian shall diligently attend to the interests of the person represented and shall take all steps necessary for the protection of those interests including:
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| A10.9 | No one may be compensated for serving as a litigation guardian unless provided for by law or a pre-existing agreement. |
| A10.10 | When a minor who was represented by a litigation guardian turns 18, the role of the litigation guardian will automatically end. |
| 1.1 | These Rules are made pursuant to s. 25.1 of the Statutory Powers Procedures Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.S.22, as amended, and apply to all proceedings before the SBT. |
| 1.2 | The Associate Chair of the SBT may also issue Practice Directions to provide information about the SBT's practices or procedures. |
Definitions |
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| 1.3 | In these Rules:
"Appellant" means the person appealing a decision of an Administrator or the Director; "Administrator" means an administrator for a geographic area; "Associate Chair" means the Associate Chair of the SBT; "ARO" means Appeals Resolution Officer; "Director" means the Director of the Ontario Disability Support Program and/or the Director of Ontario Works; "Disability Adjudication Unit" means persons appointed by the Director to make determinations regarding whether a person is a person with a disability; "Early Resolution Opportunity" means any of the alternative dispute resolution processes offered by the SBT; "file" means to file anything with the SBT and a "filing" is anything that is filed; "holiday" means Saturday, Sunday or other day when the SBT's offices are closed; "Interim Assistance" includes basic financial assistance or income support and drug and dental benefits ordered pending the resolution of an appeal to the SBT and may include other items in exceptional circumstances; "intervener" means a person or organisation allowed to participate as a party in a hearing on terms as specified by the SBT; "Member" means a member of the SBT; "ODSPA" means the Ontario Disability Support Program Act, 1997; "OWA" means the Ontario Works Act, 1997; "party" means any person or organization entitled to participate in a proceeding before the SBT and includes any person or organization added as an intervener; "pre-hearing conference" means a meeting of all parties convened by the SBT or on the request of a party; "proceeding" includes all processes following the filing of an appeal; "Respondent" means the Administrator or Director who responds to an appeal; "SBT" means the Social Benefits Tribunal; "Vice-chair" means a Vice-chair of the SBT. |
Powers of the SBT |
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| 1.4 | The SBT may exercise any of the powers under these Rules at the request of a party or on its own initiative. |
| 1.5 | To provide for the fair, just and expeditious resolution of any matter before it the SBT may:
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Calculation of Time |
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| 1.6 | Where an order or a Rule refers to a number of days this means calendar days. |
| 1.7 | Where an order or Rule refers to a specific number of days between two events, the day on which the first event happens is not counted and the day on which the second event happens is counted. |
| 1.8 | When the time for doing or filing anything ends on a holiday it may be done on the next day that is not a holiday. |
Communicating with the SBT |
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| 1.9 | All written communications to the SBT, including emails, must be addressed to the Registrar. Email communications must be addressed to sbt.registrar@ontario.ca. |
| 1.10 | All written communications to the SBT must be readable, use blue or black ink, be double spaced and have margins on both sides of the page. Pages must be numbered. |
| 1.11 | An appellant must provide an address for delivery of notices and other appeal related correspondence. Where an appellant is unable to provide an address, the Tribunal and the appellant may determine an alternate method for delivering and receiving materials. |
| 1.11.1 | An appellant who wishes to communicate with the SBT by email must complete and file a Consent to Communicate by Email with the SBT (Form 10). |
| 1.12 | Where there is no address and where no alternate method is established, the Tribunal will not proceed with the appeal and the file will be closed. |
| 1.13 | The SBT must be advised immediately if the address for delivery changes. Delivery to the last known address is considered delivery to the party. |
| 1.14 | The SBT may decide an appeal without further notice to any party who cannot be contacted using the most current contact information provided by that party. |
| 2.1 | Before commencing an appeal to the SBT the appellant must file a written request for internal review within 30 days of receiving the Administrator/Director's decision or have been granted an extension of time to request an internal review. |
| 2.2 | A request to extend time for internal review must be made to the Administrator/Director. The SBT will not consider a request to extend time for internal review. |
Appeals of OWA Decisions |
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| 2.3 | An applicant or recipient may appeal the final decision of an Administrator affecting:
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| 2.4 | The parties to an OWA appeal are:
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Appeals of ODSPA Decisions |
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| 2.5 | An applicant or recipient may appeal the final decision of the Director of ODSP affecting:
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| 2.6 | The parties to an ODSPA appeal are:
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| 3.1 | An appeal to the SBT is started by completing and filing an Appeal (Form 1) with the SBT no later than:
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| 3.2 | The Appeal (Form 1) must include enough information and documents to enable the SBT to determine whether there is adequate information to process the appeal. Where the SBT determines that the Appeal (Form 1) is not sufficiently complete, the Appeal (Form 1),
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Extension of Time to File an SBT Appeal |
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| 3.3 | If the Appeal (Form 1) is not filed within the time required by Rule 3.1 the appellant must ask the SBT to extend the time for filing the appeal. The appellant must be ready to address the request to extend time at the beginning of the hearing. The request to extend time must be in writing and explain:
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Interim Assistance |
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| 3.4 | An appellant may request interim assistance by completing section 4 of the Appeal (Form 1) and describing the financial hardship the appellant will experience until the appeal is decided. Failure to give complete information may result in delay in processing the request for interim assistance. |
| 3.5 | An appellant may object to the refusal of interim assistance by filing an objection in writing with the Registrar no later than 7 days after receiving the refusal. |
| 3.6 | Interim assistance will be ordered for a period of time from the date of the request for interim assistance. In exceptional circumstances the SBT may order interim assistance take effect on an earlier date. |
| 3.7 | An appellant may ask the SBT to extend the Interim Assistance Order. The request to extend must be in writing and delivered to the Registrar no later than 14 days before the day the Order expires. The request does not have to be delivered to the other parties. If the Order expires before the SBT receives the request to extend the appellant must file a new request for interim assistance. |
| 3.8 | The Administrator/Director may object to an Interim Assistance Order by filing an objection in writing with the SBT and delivering it to the appellant within 7 days of receiving the Order. The Interim Assistance Order remains in effect unless the SBT grants the objection and amends or reverses the Order. |
| 3.9 | The appellant may respond to the objection in writing. The response must be delivered to the Administrator/Director and filed with the SBT within 7 days of receiving the objection. |
| 3.10 | Where circumstances change, the appellant or the Administrator/Director may ask that the SBT review the Interim Assistance Order. |
| 4.1 | The SBT will deliver the Appeal (Form 1) to the respondent and any other parties. |
| 4.2 | The respondent must deliver to the appellant and file with the SBT a completed Response to Appeal (Form 3) within 30 days of receipt of the Appeal (Form 1). The Response to Appeal (Form 3) must:
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| 4.3 | Where the respondent's position changes with respect to a preliminary objection or jurisdictional issue as identified in the Response to Appeal (Form 3) or it identifies new jurisdictional issues or preliminary objections, the respondent must deliver an amended Response to Appeal to the appellant and file it with the SBT at least 30 days before the hearing. |
| 4.4 | Where a respondent has filed a written submission on the merits of an appeal and its position changes, and it intends to raise new issues, or it intends to rely on additional facts, the respondent must deliver an amended written submission to the appellant and file it with the SBT no later than 30 days before the hearing. |
| 4.5 | Unless the parties agree otherwise, where the respondent intends to rely on any further evidence or submissions in reply to the evidence and submissions of the appellant it must be delivered to the appellant and filed with the SBT no later than 10 days before the hearing. |
| 4.6 | Where a respondent does not comply with its Rule 4 obligations the SBT may:
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| 5.1 | Every party who files documents with the SBT must include:
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| 5.2 |
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| 5.3 | Documentary evidence, including medical and expert reports, is exempt from the requirement that it be double spaced and have margins on both sides of the page but all documentary evidence must be included on the list of documents and all pages must be numbered. |
| 5.4 | Unless otherwise directed appellants and other parties may file hearing submissions and documents by:
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| 5.4.1 | Rule 5.4 does not apply to filings made by:
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| 5.5 | The same documents should not be filed more than once in the same appeal. |
| 5.6 | Documents longer than 30 pages may not be filed by fax without the Registrar's consent. Attachments to emails may not exceed 10 mb. |
| 5.7 | Documents filed by email or fax and received after 5 p.m. are considered to be filed on the next day which is not a holiday. |
| 5.8 | Unless these Rules provide otherwise a copy of any document filed with the SBT must be delivered to the other parties. |
OWA Appeals |
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| 5.9 | Unless the parties agree otherwise, where the appellant intends to rely on written submissions and or evidence they must be provided to the respondent and filed with the SBT at least 20 days before the hearing. |
ODSPA Appeals |
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| 5.10 | Filing Non-Medical Information and Written Submissions
Unless the parties agree otherwise where the appellant intends to rely on written submissions and or non-medical documents this must be provided to all the parties and filed with the SBT at least 20 days before the hearing. |
| 5.11 | Filing New Medical Information in a Disability Appeal
New medical documents shall be delivered to the Disability Adjudication Unit and filed with the SBT at least 30 days before the hearing together with a completed New Medical Information (Form 5). |
Failure to Comply |
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| 5.12 | The SBT may refuse to accept or consider a document which is not filed in accordance with the Rules. |
| 5.13 | A request to consider late documents may be refused or accepted on any terms and conditions the SBT considers appropriate including an adjournment of the hearing. |
| 5.14 | A party may not present evidence or make submissions with respect to a fact or issue that was not raised in the Appeal (Form 1) or Response to Appeal or disclosed in accordance with the Rules unless the SBT is satisfied this would not cause substantial prejudice or undue delay to the proceedings. |
| 5.15 | Where the SBT refuses a request to admit late documents the hearing will proceed, the document is not evidence before the SBT and not included in the record of proceeding. |
| 6.1 | Unless otherwise directed documents may be delivered to a party by:
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| 6.2 | Documents filed by fax must relate to a single appeal file unless the SBT has directed that appeals be consolidated. |
| 6.3 | Where a party is represented, documents must be delivered to the party's representative. |
| 6.4 | Delivery must be verified by filing a Statement of Delivery (Form 7) or confirming delivery to the other parties on the cover letter or email. |
Confidentiality |
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| 7.1 | SBT hearings are conducted in private and are not open to the public. |
| 7.2 | No person shall make an electronic recording of a proceeding unless authorized by the SBT in advance of the hearing or by the Member at the beginning of the hearing. |
| 7.3 | Parties and their representatives may not use documents or recordings obtained under these Rules for any purpose other than the proceeding before the SBT. |
Hearing Dates and Location |
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| 7.4 | Hearings, pre-hearings and early resolution meetings will be scheduled without consultation with the parties unless the SBT considers consultation necessary in the circumstances. |
| 7.5 | In-person hearings are held in the appellant's community or in a neighbouring community. |
| 7.6 | A party or witness who requires financial assistance to travel to a hearing must complete a Request for Travel Assistance (Form 6) and file it with the SBT as soon as possible after receiving the Notice of Hearing. The Request for Travel Assistance does not need to be delivered to the other parties. |
Form of Hearings |
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| 7.7 | Hearings may be conducted in person, in writing, by telephone or by other electronic means as the SBT considers appropriate. |
| 7.8 | Parties participating in a hearing by telephone or other electronic means must ensure that the privacy and confidentiality of the hearing is maintained at all times. |
| 7.9 | An objection to a telephone or electronic hearing must be in writing and explain why an electronic or telephone hearing will cause significant prejudice. The objection must be delivered to the other parties and filed with the SBT within 15 days of receiving the Notice of Hearing. |
| 7.10 | An objection to a written hearing must be in writing and explain why there is a good reason for not holding a written hearing. The objection must be delivered to the other parties and filed with the SBT within 15 days of receiving the Notice of Hearing. |
Attendance at the Hearing |
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| 7.11 | A respondent may participate in the hearing by filing written submissions and/or attending the hearing. If the respondent intends to appear at the hearing the respondent must advise the SBT and the appellant in writing as soon as possible after receiving the Notice of Hearing and, in any event, no later than 7 days before the hearing date. |
| 7.12 | Where an appellant is notified of a hearing and fails to participate as required at the hearing the SBT may proceed in the appellant's absence and:
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Human Rights Code Claims |
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| 7.13 | An appellant who intends to argue that the legislation or a regulation contravenes the Human Rights Code must file a Notice of Human Rights Code Claim (Form 4) no later than 60 days prior to the hearing of the Appeal. The SBT will deliver the Notice of Human Rights Code claim to the respondent. |
| 7.14 | The Notice of Human Rights Code Claim must:
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| 7.15 | The SBT may identify a Human Rights Code issue and direct the parties to provide submissions or to be prepared to respond. |
Requests to Intervene |
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| 7.16 | The SBT may allow a person or organisation to intervene in an appeal. The SBT will determine the terms on which the intervention is allowed and the extent to which the intervener will be permitted to participate in the appeal. |
| 7.17 | A Request to Intervene must be made in writing describing the issues the proposed intervener wishes to address, setting out the position on the issues and expertise, if any, with those issues on appeal. The Request to Intervene must be delivered to all parties and filed with the SBT. |
| 7.18 | Any party may respond to a Request to Intervene by delivering written submissions to all parties and the proposed intervener and filing them with the SBT no later than 14 days after receiving the Request to Intervene. |
Request for Court Reporter |
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| 7.19 | A party may request a court reporter to record the evidence of a hearing. The request must be in writing, provide reasons in support of the request and be filed with the Registrar at least 20 days prior to the hearing date. The SBT will not provide reasons for refusing a request. |
| 7.20 | A party who wishes to have a court reporter attend at the party's expense must request permission in writing from the SBT at least 14 days prior to the hearing date. |
Disclosure of Witnesses |
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| 7.21 | Parties must provide a list of all witnesses, other than the appellant, the party proposes will give evidence at the hearing, to the other parties and file it with the SBT no later than 20 days before the hearing date. |
| 7.22 | No party may present a witness, other than the appellant, whose name is not disclosed in accordance with these Rules, except with the permission of the SBT. |
| 7.23 | Each party is responsible for ensuring the attendance of any proposed witnesses and, if necessary, for making a timely request to the SBT for a summons in accordance with Rule 8. |
| 8.1 | A party may ask the SBT to issue a summons to a witness by filing a completed Request for Summons (Form 8) as soon as possible after receiving the Notice of Hearing. The Request for Summons does not have to be delivered to the other parties. |
| 8.2 | A summons will not be issued unless the SBT is satisfied the witness has information arguably relevant to the issues in dispute on the appeal. |
| 8.3 | Proper service of the summons and payment of required attendance money is the responsibility of the party who obtained the summons. |
| 9.1 | An Appeal may be withdrawn without consent of the SBT or the responding parties. The withdrawal must be in writing, delivered to the parties, and filed with the SBT. The SBT will not issue a decision where an Appeal is withdrawn in accordance with these Rules. |
| 9.2 | An Appellant may ask to withdraw the Appeal at the hearing. A request to withdraw made at the hearing does not need to be in writing. Where the presiding member is satisfied that the Appellant understands the consequences of withdrawing the appeal, the presiding member will record the withdrawal on the SBT record. |
| 9A.1 | Parties to an Appeal from the Director's decision finding the Appellant not to be a person with a disability may settle the Appeal on the day of the hearing by providing a completed Confirmation of Settlement and Request for Consent Order (Form 9) to the presiding member and asking the SBT to issue a Consent Order. |
| 9A.2 | Where the presiding member is satisfied the parties understand the terms of their agreement the presiding member will issue a Consent Order which finally disposes of the Appeal and closes the SBT's file. |
| 10.1 | A request to re-open an Appeal which was closed without a hearing must be in writing and provide reasons in support of the request. The request must be delivered to the other parties and filed with the SBT. |
| 10.2 | The other parties need not respond unless directed to do so. |
| 10.3 | Where the SBT grants a request to re-open it will provide brief reasons and may include directions to the appellant to ensure the fair, just and expeditious resolution of the Appeal. |
| 11.1 | The SBT may, on its own initiative, issue notice to the parties of its intention to dismiss all or part of an Appeal which appears to be outside its jurisdiction or where a statutory requirement for appeal has not been met. |
| 11.2 | The appellant will have the opportunity to provide submissions in response. The other parties need not respond unless directed to do so. |
| 11.3 | If, after considering the appellant's submissions, it is plain and obvious that all or part of the appeal is outside the SBT's jurisdiction or a statutory requirement for appeal has not been met, the appeal or that portion of the appeal that the SBT determines is outside its jurisdiction, will be dismissed with brief written reasons. |
| 12.1 | The SBT may hold a summary hearing, on its own initiative or at the request of a party, on the question of whether an appeal should be dismissed in whole or in part on the basis that there is no reasonable prospect it will succeed. |
| 12.2 | A request for summary hearing must be in writing and provide submissions in support of the request. The request must be delivered to the other parties and filed with the SBT. The SBT will not provide reasons for refusing a request. |
| 12.3 | Where the SBT grants a request for summary hearing or decides to hold a summary hearing on its own initiative it will issue directions to the parties setting out the form of hearing, identifying the issues to be addressed and describing the hearing process. |
| 12.4 | If the SBT determines the appeal has no reasonable prospect of success it will provide brief written reasons for its decision. |
| 13.1 | Requests for administrative rescheduling must be in writing and identify the reason for the request. Administrative rescheduling is only available in the particular circumstances described in SBT Practice Direction on Rescheduling of Hearings and Adjournments. A request to administratively reschedule need not be delivered to the other parties. |
| 13.2 | Requests to adjourn a hearing must be in writing and include detailed reasons in support of the request. The request must indicate whether the other parties consent or oppose the request and must be delivered to the other parties and filed with the SBT as soon as possible upon becoming aware of the need for an adjournment. |
| 13.3 | A party who opposes an adjournment must deliver written reasons to the other parties and file them with the SBT within 2 days of receiving the request. |
| 13.4 | A request to adjourn a hearing made less than 14 days before the hearing date is considered a late request. Absent exceptional circumstances, late requests to adjourn will be decided by the Member at the hearing. |
| 13.5 | The SBT will not grant a request to adjourn a hearing to obtain additional medical evidence. |
| 14.1 | A party may ask the SBT to correct a typographical error, error of calculation or similar error in a decision or order. The request must be made in writing, delivered to all parties and filed with the SBT as soon as the party becomes aware of the error. |
| 14.2 | The SBT may at any time make similar corrections on its own initiative. |
| 15.1 | Any party may request a reconsideration of a final decision in writing by completing an Application for Reconsideration (Form 2). The complete Application for Reconsideration must be delivered to the other parties and filed with the SBT within 30 days of receiving the decision. |
| 15.2 | An Application for Reconsideration filed more than 30 days after receiving the decision must include written submissions explaining:
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| 15.3 | The SBT will not accept a request for reconsideration filed more than one year after the date of the final decision. |
| 15.4 | Interim Assistance Orders are not final decisions. |
| 15.5 | The SBT will not process a second request for reconsideration of the same decision from the same party unless there are exceptional circumstances. |
| 16.1 | Any party to the hearing may appeal the SBT's decision to the Divisional Court on a question of law within 30 days of receiving the final decision or, where a request for reconsideration is filed, within 30 days of receiving the reconsideration decision, in accordance with the Rules of Civil Procedure. |
| 16.2 | The party appealing the decision must deliver a copy of the notice of appeal and the Divisional Court file number to the SBT as soon as possible upon filing the appeal. Upon receipt of the Notice of Appeal the SBT will prepare and file its Record of Proceedings with the Court. |