The Social Justice Tribunals Ontario (SJTO) is designated as an adjudicative tribunal cluster under the Adjudicative Tribunals Accountability, Governance and Appointments Act, 2009 (ATAGAA). SJTO is comprised of eight tribunals: the Child and Family Services Review Board (CFSRB), the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB), the Custody Review Board (CRB), the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO), the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB), the Ontario Special Education Tribunals (English and French) (OSETs), and the Social Benefits Tribunal (SBT).
SJTO's mandate is to resolve applications and appeals by providing fair, effective, timely and accessible resolutions for a number of statutes relating to child and family services oversight, youth justice, human rights, compensation for victims of violent crime, residential tenancies, special education, disability support and other social assistance. In order to deliver this mandate, SJTO continues to work towards an accessible, user-centred administrative justice system, which offers modern, cost-effective processes, timely resolution and, most importantly, just outcomes.
SJTO will continue to be a leader in the administrative justice community, drive transformation and deliver its mandate. This business plan sets out the key initiatives that SJTO will implement over the next three years. The key initiatives deliver in five strategic priority areas: focusing on early resolution, working in partnership with the community, enhancing service to the public, strengthening member and staff capacity, and harnessing the benefits of clustering and co-location.
Social Justice Tribunals Ontario (SJTO) is a cluster of eight adjudicative tribunals with a mandate to resolve applications and appeals brought under a number of statutes relating to child and family services oversight, youth justice, human rights, residential tenancies, income support, compensation for victims of violent crime, and special education.
SJTO and our constituent tribunals will:
The core values inform how the SJTO and its tribunals approach their mandates. They set the foundation for rules and policies, how those rules and policies will be applied, and how we serve the public. The core values are:
Accessibility
Fairness and Independence
Timeliness and Transparency
Professionalism and Public Service
The CFSRB operates under the Child and Family Services Act and the Education Act. The CFSRB conducts reviews, hearings and appeals for matters affecting children, youth and families in Ontario, including: Children's Aid Society services complaints; emergency secure treatment admissions; adoption refusals; and, appeals of school board expulsions.
The CRB operates under the Child and Family Services Act to review placement decisions made regarding young persons who are being held in detention or custody and make recommendations to the Provincial Director regarding the placement of youth. In 2014-15, the CFSRB/CRB received 413 applications and closed 444 applications.
The CICB operates under the Compensation for Victims of Crime Act (CVCA). The CICB determines whether applicants are eligible for compensation at an oral or written hearing. In 2014-15, CICB received 3,310 applications, and held 3,100 hearings.
The HRTO operates under the Human Rights Code. The HRTO's primary role is to provide an accessible process to resolve disputes/applications/claims of discrimination through mediation and hearings. In 2014-2015, the HRTO received 3,259 applications and closed 3,180 applications.
The LTB resolves applications related to residential tenancy disputes and eviction disputes in non-profit housing co-operatives filed under the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA). In 2014-15, the LTB received 79,532 applications and resolved 78,100 applications. The LTB is also mandated to provide information to landlords and tenants about their rights and obligations under the RTA. In 2014-15, the LTB handled 286,869 telephone inquiries.
The OSETs were established to resolve disputes between parents of exceptional pupils and school boards. The OSETs receive applications from parents who have been unable to resolve disputes with school boards respecting the identification and placement of exceptional pupils. In 2014-15, the English OSET received no new appeals. There were no appeals to the French OSET in 2014-15.
The SBT decides appeals under the Ontario Works Act, 1997 and the Ontario Disability Support Plan Act, 1997. The SBT considers appeals by applicants who have been refused social assistance and recipients of social assistance who disagree with a decision that affects the amount of, or their eligibility for, social assistance. During 2014-15, the SBT received 14,025 appeals and closed 14,600 appeals.
Clustering was identified and recognized as a positive initiative in the Drummond report. Clustering brings together a group of tribunals within a single organization. Its objectives include aligning and coordinating tribunal resources to be more efficient and effective, leveraging and building capacity amongst and across the clustered tribunals, and ensuring service is delivered to the public in a coherent and consistent way.
Ontario's challenging economic environment may have an impact on SJTO tribunals. For example, there will likely continue to be a shortage of affordable housing, and a greater reliance on social assistance. Similarly, social and economic hardship can lead to an increase in domestic and family breakdown, and perhaps also in violent crime. These socio-economic factors could result in caseload pressures across the SJTO and the need for additional financial compensation for victims of violent crimes.
In addition, the SBT is anticipating a continuing increase in medical review appeals as a result of additional funding provided to the Ministry of Community and Social Services, to reduce their medical review backlog. SBT has also seen an overall caseload increase since 2008-09. SJTO may also see an increase in the number of applications to CICB as a result of crown wards seeking compensation pending the outcome of a class action suit.
In 2015 the government launched a new approach to multi-year planning and budgeting called Program Review, Renewal and Transformation (PRRT). With this new approach to planning, SJTO has considered the four key principles of PRRT in developing its business plan: examining how every dollar is spent; using evidence to inform better choices and improve outcomes; looking horizontally to find the best way to deliver services; and, taking a multi-year approach to find opportunities to transform service and achieve savings.
In fiscal year 2015-16 a 4.4% constraint was applied to the SJTO operating budget. It is anticipated that this constraint will be applied to SJTO's budget allocation for fiscal year 2016-17 and additional constraints are likely in future years. SJTO will need to develop innovative solutions to maintain, or increase access to justice. SJTO plans to use technology to respond to increasing public expectations for electronic service delivery and the need to meet service demands with less money.
The generation of young people entering the workforce have different expectations. They seek greater flexibility in both their work hours and place of work. SJTO is developing an employee engagement strategy, which includes flexible work arrangements as well as learning and development opportunities. This employee engagement strategy is designed to attract new talent to the organization and to retain and develop the very talented employees we already have.
One of the requirements in the Adjudicative Tribunals Accountability, Governance and Appointments Act (ATAGAA) is that all adjudicative tribunals have a mandate review at least once every six years. Mandate reviews are being conducted for the CICB, CFSRB/CRB and OSETs with a report expected in fiscal year 2016-17. The mandate review for the LTB and SBT are scheduled for 2016/17 and HRTO in 2018. The reviews will inform the government if the tribunal's mandate continues to be relevant to the goals of the Government of Ontario, if the tribunal is carrying out the activities and operations required in its mandate and if the functions of each tribunal are best performed by the tribunal, or whether they might be better performed by a ministry, another agency or entity.
If the mandate or jurisdiction of the cluster or a tribunal changes, SJTO may not be able to implement the changes on time due to potential underfunding for transformation costs. For example, case management systems may need to be redesigned.
All SJTO adjudicators are Order-in-Council (OIC) appointments and are subject to the rules and requirements set out in the Agencies and Appointments Directive. Under the directive, the maximum term for which a person may be appointed to a specific adjudicative position within a tribunal is 10 years. This directive was introduced in 2006 which means a high number of SJTO adjudicators reach their maximum term during 2016-18. SJTO has implemented a plan to lessen the impact of this turnover. However, it is anticipated that a number of experienced adjudicators will seek other opportunities and may leave before their final term expires. SJTO is actively monitoring the movement of its adjudicators to ensure that it continues to have the appropriate adjudicative and subject area expertise during the transition period and beyond.
Although SJTO's operating budget is shrinking, the public's expectation is that the organization will continue to maintain or improve services. The constraints faced by SJTO are expected to continue next fiscal year and new initiatives may be delayed if there are additional constraints.
To ensure business continuity, SJTO is looking at the impact of retirements over the next few years and working to ensure an effective knowledge transfer process is in place. SJTO regularly reviews vacancies across the organization and uses proactive recruitment practices to guarantee that SJTO has the best-skilled people in the right roles to meet its goals. In 2015-16 SJTO also conducted a member diversity survey which will help SJTO build a stronger, more diverse organization.
SJTO will continue to implement initiatives to improve access to SJTO services. Specifically, the LTB has implemented an e-Filing application system that allows parties to file and pay for applications at any time and from anywhere. The CICB and SBT are investigating e-Filing options as well. SJTO and Community Legal Education Ontario are working together to present information on-line through a series of guided steps. The initial focus is on housing, with information available through the LTB section of the SJTO website. The Steps to Justice project is expanding to include a focus on social assistance to be made available through the SBT section of the SJTO website.
CICB is continuing its work with Justice Technology Services on the implementation of a new case management system to replace the two decades old system currently being used. The LTB is working with community organizations that serve homeless and mental health clients in London and Rexdale, on an eviction diversion process to help tenants avoid eviction and landlords to avoid the cost of eviction proceedings.
The work on co-locating the SJTO downtown Toronto offices is still a priority for the cluster to achieve the full potential of aligning resources, and leveraging the expertise and capacity that exists within each tribunal and across the organization. Most SJTO Toronto offices will be co-located in the fall 2016, followed by the LTB's Toronto South office and hearing/mediation rooms in 2017. In order to adapt to the new offices some operational processes will need to change. Co-location will provide opportunities for sharing of resources and expertise, will result in additional lease savings and will reduce space costs by sharing hearing and mediation rooms.
Strategic directions:
| INITIATIVES | DIRECTIONS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| SJTO | |||||
| 1. Professional development and education | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2. Co-location | X | X | X | X | X |
| 3. Child and Youth Division | X | X | X | ||
| 4. Expanded email communication | X | X | X | X | X |
| 5. Regional offices and shared hearing sites | X | X | X | ||
| 6. Website development, extranet & library | X | X | X | ||
| 7. Electronic case files pilot | X | ||||
| 8. Community hubs | X | X | X | ||
| 9. Aboriginal initiatives | X | X | X | ||
| Two or more tribunals | |||||
| 10. Electronic hearings and mediation (HRTO,CFSRB,LTB,SBT) | X | X | |||
| 11. E-filing projects (LTB,SBT,CICB,CFSRB) | X | ||||
| 12. Case management systems (CICB,HRTO,LTB) | X | ||||
| One tribunal | |||||
| 13. Eviction diversion (LTB) | X | X | X | ||
| 14. Case management hearings pilot (LTB) | X | X | |||
| 15. Early resolution initiatives (SBT) | X | X | |||
| 16. "Guided Self Help" project (SBT) | X | X | |||
| 17. "Steps to Justice" project (LTB) | X | X | |||
The SJTO Professional Development Unit oversees training and professional development across SJTO tribunals, including the delivery of new member training, core competency modules, and the SJTO Institute. In addition to education on substantive matters affecting our tribunals, the SJTO builds knowledge for members and staff about users of SJTO tribunals, communication skills, dispute resolution and adjudicative skills, and capacity to serve vulnerable parties. Topics for upcoming professional development and education include: mental health, de-escalation of difficult situations, poverty, Aboriginal/Indigenous perspectives, child/youth issues, community partnerships, and IT.
Since SJTO was established as a cluster, one of its priorities has been to co-locate offices in downtown Toronto. While maintaining a regional presence in offices throughout the province continues to be an important element of our service delivery, being located together in Toronto is a crucial step in achieving the full potential of clustering. Co-locating will enable us to share knowledge and experience and it will provide a modern, accessible space designed to meet the diverse needs of staff, adjudicators and the public.
SJTO is scheduled to move in two phases. In the first phase, scheduled for the fall 2016, many of the SJTO administrative offices currently located in Toronto will move to the new location at 25 Grosvenor. In the second phase of the project, the LTB Toronto South office, public service counters and hearings rooms for SJTO's tribunals as well as the Safety, Licensing Appeals and Standards Tribunals Ontario will be opened to the public.
The following table sets out our anticipated move plan, by tribunal/office:
| Tribunal | Function | Current Location | New Location | Anticipated Date |
| SBT/CFSRB/CRB | Administration | 1075 Bay Street | 25 Grosvenor | Fall 2016 |
| SBT | Hearings | 1075 Bay Street | 25 Grosvenor | 2017 |
| CFRSB/CRB | Hearings | 655 Bay Street | 655 Bay Street | May 2016 |
| CICB | Administration | 439 University Ave | 25 Grosvenor | Fall 2016 |
| Hearings | 250 Dundas St W | 25 Grosvenor | 2017 | |
| HRTO/OSETs | Administration | 595 Bay Street | 25 Grosvenor | Fall 2016 |
| Hearings | 655 Bay Street | 655 Bay Street | Not applicable | |
| LTB | Administration | 79 St. Clair Street | 25 Grosvenor | 2017 |
| Hearings | 79 St. Clair Street | 25 Grosvenor | 2017 | |
| Executive Office | Administration | 40 Dundas Street | 25 Grosvenor | Fall 2016 |
| Business Services | Administration | 777 Bay Street | 25 Grosvenor | Fall 2016 |
Five SJTO tribunals hear cases about children and youth, including those involving special needs, mental health issues, education issues and children, and youth in care: CRSRB and CRB, the OSETs (English and French), and HRTO. The CICB also hears applications for compensation from youth victims of violent crime. The SJTO has established the Child and Youth Division (CYD) to examine similarities and connections between the users of these tribunals, the nature of the cases, and the social context in which many of the disputes arise. This will inform how SJTO can achieve appropriate and consistent procedures, and build capacity within and across the tribunals. The CYD has focused on cross-appointments, maximizing expertise across the tribunals and training, and has established a Practice Advisory Committee of key stakeholders. The CYD is developing Guiding Principles as a foundation for coordination and integration of aspects of the five tribunals.
To improve service delivery for the parties, SJTO is expanding the use of email.
The SBT expanded their guidelines to allow communication with clients by email and is running a pilot project from February 2015 to January 2016 with 35 legal clinics and Ontario Disability Support Program/Ontario Works (ODSP/OW) offices. Evaluations have been taking place at different stages of the pilot and adjustments made in consultation with stakeholders. The pilot has been a success. Starting in February 2016, email communication will be open to all remaining legal clinics and ODSP/OW offices province-wide. Email communication with unrepresented appellants is not yet available.
The CICB has been successful in developing partnerships with various stakeholders to facilitate email communication and electronic transfer of case specific and hearing related information. The CICB has begun accepting applications by fax and will begin accepting applications by email in early 2016. The CICB is also exploring technology to develop a secure and reliable platform to exchange case-related material. The CICB's rules of practice will be updated to include the option to communicate electronically with the parties.
The LTB is using email at all its offices for case-specific inquiries and is looking at other ways to expand the use of email.
An SJTO Common Calendar has been in use for nearly a year. This tool ensures that hearing rooms are fully utilized by allowing SJTO's schedulers to see hearing and mediation room availability for all 13 SJTO sites.
SJTO's London Regional Office is being expanded to include more hearing and mediation rooms. All the SJTO boards and tribunals will be able to use the space, including our newest cluster partner, the CICB. SJTO continues to explore opportunities for more efficient use of hearing sites. A review of the utilization rate for hearing locations across the province and associated costs is underway. The information gathered will be used to identify opportunities for improvement.
SJTO continues to improve and maintain content on our new website to ensure that it is up-to-date, written in plain-language, and is accessible. Currently the website is being updated to include content for the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board. The update is expected to be completed by summer 2016.
By fall 2016, SJTO will convert all static PDFs (i.e. not forms) on the website to html format, which is the gold standard in on-line accessibility. SJTO is also making its PDF forms more accessible and expects to complete this task in 2017.
SJTO will ask for user feedback on an ongoing basis and make changes accordingly.
The SJTO is also refreshing its extranet site, reviewing and updating content to provide a valuable user-friendly resource for staff and members. The SJTO is conducting a full review of the site content, identifying and deleting outdated content and looking at areas for improvement. The site platform will be updated either by upgrading the current version or selecting a new option.
This project will transition paper case files at all of SJTO's tribunals to electronic case files. This includes providing adjudicators with electronic hearing briefs for hearings and managing the electronic case file in accordance with the records retention schedule. Electronic case files will save time and reduce administrative costs associated with paper files.
CICB has already implemented electronic files, and they will be introduced over time at the other SJTO tribunals. CFSRB will begin using electronic mediation files in winter 2015-2016. SBT will start creating electronic case files for appeals received in 2016, and electronic hearing briefs will be introduced in the fall of 2016.
At Community Hubs a variety of community-based services are available to users in the same location. SJTO is working to expand our engagement with community hubs to increase access to supports for SJTO users and access to SJTO electronic hearings. SJTO is working with the Rexdale Community Clinic to schedule more video conference hearings at the Rexdale Community hub. The goal is to expand this approach within SBT and possibly extend it to LTB. CICB is also exploring use of videoconferencing to expand access. SJTO is engaging community service providers with a base at the Rexdale Community hub to explore eviction diversion strategies for landlord and tenant disputes.
This project will involve the SJTO working with the community to identify the needs of Aboriginal communities in interacting with our tribunals, including the information and services we provide and the approaches we take to resolving legal issues and disputes. This will inform our training and policy development.
The HRTO started a Telephone Mediation pilot project in late November 2015. The pilot results will be reviewed and evaluated in the winter/spring of 2016 to determine next steps in the project.
Electronic Filing (e-Filing) is an LTB initiative that provides clients with a secure and simple way to file four of the most used forms online: L1, L2, T2 and T6. Clients are able to file applications at any time and from anywhere. e-Filing also increases the number of complete and correctly filled out applications received by using a forms wizard to guide applicants; the wizard explains fields and prompts applicants if they have missed a field. The LTB e-Filing application was implemented in July 2015. Small fixes will be made to the system over the next 6 months to address minor issues. Options for next steps in improving the system are being developed for consideration and decision in the spring of 2016.
The SBT, CFSRB, and CICB will be exploring the options of e-Filing over the next one to two fiscal years.
CICB is scheduled to introduce a new case management system in July 2016. The new system will be a customized off-the-shelf product and is the same system used at some other SJTO tribunals. The new system will provide for: streamlined processes to enhance case management, support the electronic file management system, and provide detailed and rigorous reporting capabilities.
The case management system project also includes the development of business cases to improve or replace case management systems at HRTO and LTB.
The LTB is reaching out to community partners to find ways to resolve landlord-tenant disputes before they come to the LTB, avoiding evictions and the cost of eviction proceedings. Control over the process remains with the external organizations, however the LTB is committed to facilitating the process wherever possible.
The LTB continues to develop and implement changes to its scheduling model to improve timeliness and streamline processes. Case Management Hearings (CMH) provide an opportunity for parties to explore settlement with an LTB Hearing Officer, prior to a merits hearing. Where parties are unable to resolve all issues in dispute, the Hearing Officer makes directions to streamline the hearing process.
The LTB is continuing with the CMH pilot for tenant applications Hamilton and Toronto South offices which is currently being evaluated. Options for next steps are being developed and a decision will be made in the spring of 2016. In addition, the CMH pilot for co-operative housing applications has been evaluated and recommendations to improve the process have been accepted. Process changes will be implemented over the next 6 months.
To manage an increase in medical review appeals, the SBT launched a new pilot project called Medical Review Early Resolution Pilot (MRERP) to expand its Early Resolution Program to include medical review appeals. The participants in this pilot are the Ministry of Community and Social Services, select community legal clinics and the SBT. The purpose of the MRERP is to review the appeal, and to clarify, exchange and share information, with the goal of reaching a resolution. The pilot has the potential to save time and money and may also allow legal clinics to serve more clients. The pilot is running from November 2015 to July 2016.
This project will allow participating legal clinics to serve more clients. The clinics will not provide in-person representation at the SBT hearings (except in a small number of cases where the client would be unable to participate without representation) but instead, they will institute a self-help model. The clinic will conduct an initial interview with the client to assess the case and provide advice. If appropriate, they will assist with filing the internal review, the appeal to the SBT and will provide letter(s) to medical practitioners, which will be signed by the client. Prior to the hearing, the clinic will have a pre-hearing meeting with the client and prepare submissions for the client's use, and to be provided to the SBT adjudicator.
This is a partnership between SJTO and Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO). The project is about presenting information on-line through a series of guided steps. The initial focus is on housing, with the idea that information targeted for tenants and landlords would be available through the LTB section of the SJTO website. An initial package of questions and answers has been developed and the project has been "soft-launched" on the CLEO website. The project is expanding to include a focus on information regarding social assistance to be made available through the SBT section of the SJTO website.
SJTO's multi-year IT plan provides the tools for more effective, accessible and efficient services, and sets the direction and framework for future IT investments. SJTO works with internal and external partners to implement the plan.
Looking forward, SJTO will continue to focus on consolidating IT assets, establishing business requirements for systems, identifying processes to move towards a paperless work environment, sharing IT resources and collaborating with its IT partners to improve service. SJTO's recently launched, consolidated internet site demonstrates its commitment to access to justice. SJTO is also working with its government IT partners and the other clusters on a comprehensive IT strategy.
The key initiatives in the IT plan include: enhancing the LTB e-Filing application; implementing a new case management for CICB, development of electronic case files, enhancing the consolidated website to increase accessibility and enhance stakeholder engagement; improving the HRTO online application form; exploring options for online dispute resolution; exploring the potential to align and coordinate IT initiatives with legal clinics and external service providers; consolidating IT assets (e.g. MFDs / Printers, file print servers moved to purpose built government data centres); working with the government's IT providers to increase services and reduce IT expenditure; and analyzing the possible impacts of SJTO's co-location on the cluster's IT assets and projects.
Service excellence is a priority for SJTO. Pursuant to the Adjudicative Tribunals Accountability, Governance and Appointments Act every tribunal or cluster must develop, and make public, service standards.
SJTO continues to be committed in meeting its service standards and assesses them regularly to see how it can improve. An action plan is in place to help the cluster work towards meeting its service standards which includes increasing the number of hearings, implementing early resolution dispute resolution processes, increasing resources where appropriate and streamlining business processes.
Over the next year, CICB will establish and introduce service standards that are similar to the SJTO service standards.
A party before one of SJTO's tribunals, whose application has been accepted for processing, can expect that the following standards will be met, 80% of the time.
The results reported below are for the second quarter of fiscal year 2015-16 (July 1, 2015 to September 30, 2015). Averages have been provided only where the service standard has not been achieved.
| Tribunal | Performance Measures (Standards will be met 80% of the time) | Results Achieved |
|---|---|---|
| Child and Family Services Review Board | Section 68 pre-hearing conferences will be scheduled within 40 calendar days after the application is deemed eligible (Note: Average was 40 days) | 76% |
| Section 68 hearings will be scheduled within 60 calendar days after the application is deemed eligible (Note: Average was 80 days) | 25% | |
| Section 68 decisions or orders will be issued within 30 calendar days of the completion of the hearing (Note: No decisions released in Q2) | N/A | |
| Section 124 hearings will be scheduled within four calendar days of receipt of the application | 100% | |
| Section 36 hearings will be scheduled within 20 calendar days of receipt of the application | 100% | |
| Section 61 and Section 144 hearings will be scheduled within 20 calendar days after the application has been deemed eligible | 100% | |
| Decisions or Orders for all other CFSA applications will be issued within 10 calendar days after the hearing has been completed (Note: average was 22 days) | 100% | |
| Appeals of school board expulsion (Education Act, Section 311.7) hearings will be scheduled within 30 calendar days of receipt of the notice of appeal | 100% | |
| Orders (Education Act, Section 311.7) will be issued within 10 calendar days after the hearing has been completed (Note: No Orders released in Q2) | N/A | |
| Decisions (Education Act, Section 311.7) will be issued within 10 calendar days after the hearing has been completed (Note: 1 decision was released in Q2 in 20 days) | 0% | |
| Custody Review Board | Review will begin by a telephone call within 24 hours of the receipt of the application | 100% |
| Where the Board intends to hold a hearing it will advise the young person within 10 calendar days of the receipt of the application (Note: No hearings held in Q2) | N/A | |
| Recommendations will be issued within 30 calendar days of receipt of the applications | 100% | |
| Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario | The first mediation date offered to parties will be scheduled to take place within 150 calendar days from the date the parties agree to mediation | 98% |
| The first hearing date offered to parties will be scheduled to take place within 180 calendar days from the date the Application is ready to proceed to hearing (Note: Average was 173 days) | 44% | |
| Decisions for hearings which take 3 days or less will be issued within 90 calendar days (Note: Average was 89 days) | 72% | |
| Decisions for hearings which take longer than 3 days, will be issued within 180 calendar days (Note: Average was 308 days) | 20% | |
| Landlord and Tenant Board | LTB applications will be scheduled for a hearing within 25 business days (Note: average was 22 days) | 75% |
| Decision (Order) for LTB applications will be issued within 5 business days at the conclusion of the final hearing | 83% | |
| Ontario Special Education Tribunals (English and French) | All applications will be scheduled for mediation or a hearing within 120 calendar days | N/A |
| Decisions will be issued within 90 calendar days | N/A | |
| Social Benefits Tribunal | Appeals will be scheduled with a Notice of Hearing sent out no later than 30 calendar days after receipt of the appeal that sets a hearing date 180 calendar days after the notice of hearing (Note: Average time to Notice of Hearing was 35 days, average time to hearing was 239 days) | * 6% |
| Decision will be issued within 30 calendar days after the completion of the hearing (Note: Average was 34 days) | 56% |
* SBT continues to struggle to meet its service standards due to a number of factors including catching up on increased caseload from previous fiscal years, coupled with a shortage of adjudicators. The addition of new adjudicators in late September has increased the number of hearings in Q4 of 2015-16, the service standards should start to improve in the first quarter of 2016-17.
SJTO continues to work with the Human Resources Strategic Business Unit to develop effective organizational structures and identify strategies to support and develop our staff and members.
SJTO is led by an Executive Chair and with an FTE complement of 458.15: 365.15 staff, 93 full-time adjudicators and 102 part-time adjudicators.
| Category | Total Number of FTEs |
|---|---|
| Order-in-Council | 93 |
| SMG/MCP Management | 35 |
| MCP (Non- Management) | 1 |
| Excluded (Non-Management) | 2 |
| ALOC | 10.6 |
| AMAPCEO | 64 |
| OPSEU | 252.55 |
| Total | 458.15 |
The SJTO does not have initiatives involving financial contracts with a third party to deliver its core services.
The communications strategy for SJTO includes several tactics that support the strategic directions of SJTO:
External Communications
Internal Communications
In order to:
SJTO is committed to building an inclusive work environment that reflects Ontario's diversity and to embedding barrier-free policies, processes and services within our organization. To support that commitment, SJTO has a three year diversity plan that covers the period from April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2016. The plan has commitments under four key strategies: people, processes, services and results. The diversity and inclusion plan includes activities such as: incorporating inclusion related commitments into performance plans; providing learning opportunities for staff in the areas of diversity and inclusion; finding opportunities to expand candidate pools during recruitment; and conducting member surveys and employee engagement surveys to measure results and identify gaps.
In 2015-16, SJTO conducted a member survey specific to diversity and received a 90% response rate. The strong response to the survey has helped SJTO establish a baseline from which it can measure its future progress in building a stronger, more diverse organization.
Following on the results from the 2014-15 OPS employee engagement survey, town hall meetings were conducted with all staff and an action plan developed in response to identified gaps in engagement. A number of initiatives are already underway, including a pilot project to implement a job shadowing program and establishment of an employee recognition program.
Staff and members at all of SJTO's tribunals continue to embrace diversity within their offices, participating in different days of recognition or fund raising events. For example, in 2015-16, staff and members participated in Orange Shirt Day, commemorating former students of Indian Residential School, the Peace of Minds Walk in support of mental health, and the United Way CN Tower Climb.
SJTO also hired a student from the LAWS program (Law in Action within Schools) which is a program to support, guide and motivate high school students who face challenges in engaging with school and accessing post-secondary education.
Training on human rights and mental health were delivered across SJTO and in response to requests from staff, there will continue to be a focus in these areas, moving forward.
Work is underway to identify future diversity and inclusion commitments. The new initiatives will be consolidated with SJTO's accessibility initiatives to create one overall inclusion plan for the three year period commencing April 1, 2016.
SJTO's Accessibility and Accommodation Policy outlines its commitment to treating all people with dignity and respect and in a manner which promotes independence. The policy is supplemented by a three year accessibility and accommodation plan, focused on preventing and removing barriers to accessibility to ensure an inclusive environment in which all members of the public have equitable access to SJTO's services.
Initiatives to enhance accessibility of SJTO's tribunals which have been implemented in the past year include:
Also in 2015-16, SJTO continued to ensure that accessibility is built into the renovation plans for the Toronto co-location project.
The Accommodation Coordinators Working Group continues to be a valuable forum to share best practices and ensure that SJTO responds effectively to requests for accommodation. Recently, the working group reviewed the accommodation requests received in the past year to identify any barriers.
The working group is also developing a new multi-year inclusion plan which will incorporate accessibility, diversity and inclusion initiatives into one consolidated document. The plan will cover a three-year period, commencing April 1, 2016 and will be posted on SJTO's staff and public websites. The plan will not stand in isolation but is linked to other SJTO initiatives and commitments such as the operational plan, the Code of Conduct and SJTO's mission and core values.
| SJTO Operating Budget | 2015-16 Budget Allocation | 2015-16 Forecast (Q2) | Variance ** |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salaries and Wages (S&W) | 33,602,400 | 33,774,900 | (172,500) |
| Benefits | 4,030,500 | 4,449,100 | (418,600) |
| ODOE | |||
| Transportation and Communications (T&C) | 2,532,700 | 2,430,100 | 102,600 |
| Services | 9,123,000 | 10,517,800 | (1,394,800) |
| Supplies and Equipment (S&E) | 1,012,600 | 563,500 | 449,100 |
| Subtotal | 50,301,200 * | 51,735,400 | (1,434,200) |
| One-year Funding (Medical Reviews) | 1,100,000 | 1,100,000 | |
| Total Operating Budget | 51,401,200 | 51,735,400 | (334,200) |
| Transfer Payments | 25,916,700 | 25,916,700 | - |
| Revenue | 12,000,000 |
Notes:
* Includes constraint of $2.2M or 4.46%
** Pressure in S&W and benefits due to new salary ranges for ALOC employees and Ministry constraint. Savings in T&C due to reduced travel and telecommunication costs; Pressure in Services due to underfunding; Savings in S&E to partially offset Services
| Standard Account | 2016-17 Budget Allocation | 2017-18 Budget Allocation | 2018-19 Budget Allocation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salaries and Wages (S&W) | 33,602,400 | 33,602,400 | 33,602,400 |
| Benefits | 4,030,500 | 4,030,500 | 4,030,500 |
| Transportation and Communications (T&C) | 2,532,700 | 2,532,700 | 2,532,700 |
| Services | 9,123,000 | 9,139,800 | 9,139,800 |
| Supplies and Equipment (S&E) | 1,012,600 | 1,012,600 | 1,012,600 |
| Total Operating Budget | 50,301,200 * | 50,318,000 * | 50,318,000 * |
| Transfer Payments (CICB) | 25,916,700 | 25,916,700 | 25,916,700 |
Note:
* A constraint of 4.4% or $2.2M was applied to the SJTO's operating budget allocation for fiscal year 2015-16 and future years. The constraint is not applied to the Transfer Payments.
| Lump Sum Awards | 2014-15 Year-end Balance | 2015-16 (Forecast) Year-end Balance |
|---|---|---|
| Prior Years Cases Accrued Liability | ($1,122,730) | ($3,803,286) |
| New Cases Accrued Liability | $15,977,622 | $16,617,996 |
| All Cases Accrued Liability | $14,854,892 | $12,814,710 |
| Periodic Awards | 2014-15 Year-end Balance | 2015-16 (Forecast) Year-end Balance |
| Periodic Payments 20 Years Accrued Liability | $19,966,677 | $19,294,048 |
The periodic payments accrued liability balance as at March 31, 2016 is forecasted to be $19,294,048, which is calculated as the 20-year liability accrual for periodic payment obligations from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2036.
SJTO aims to operate within its budget by managing workload and prioritizing IT projects, policy changes and other initiatives. Risks include fluctuating IT costs, and increased caseload.
The LTB collects approximately $12 million per year, primarily from application filing fees. A small amount of revenue is generated through sales of photocopies, copies of hearing recordings, etc. There are no filing fees for the other tribunals in SJTO. Revenue received by SJTO is transferred to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
The CICB receives transfer payment funding to cover victim compensation awards paid out for new cases received and awarded within the current fiscal year, as well as for the payment of new cases received in-year, but not paid out until future years. The latter is deposited into an accrued liability account. Transfer payment funding also covers periodic payments and medical expenses paid directly to service providers over the course of the fiscal year.
The CICB must ensure a sufficient balance in its accrued liability account at the beginning of each fiscal year in order to pay out its current and future compensation award obligations. Separate accrued liability accounts are maintained for CICB's future payment obligations for Lump Sum Awards and Periodic Payments.