Legislation and Regulation

---

Adjudicative Tribunals Accountability, Governance and Appointments Act

The Adjudicative Tribunals Accountability, Governance and Appointments Act, 2009 (ATAGAA) lets the government group adjudicative tribunals into an organization called a cluster, when “the matters that the tribunals deal with are such that they can operate more effectively and efficiently as part of a cluster than alone”.

ATAGAA requires adjudicative tribunals to publish governance and public accountability documents including: a mandate and mission statement, qualifications for members (adjudicators), service standards, a complaints policy and an ethics plan. ATAGAA also requires that appointments of members are made following a competitive, merit-based competition.

The full text of the legislation and regulations can be accessed on the e-laws website.

Statutory Powers Procedure Act

The Statutory Powers Procedure Act (“the Act”) provides a general framework for the conduct of hearings before Ontario’s administrative tribunals. Effective June 3, 2021, a new provision has been added to the Act making it an offence to record or publish a tribunal hearing unless an exception applies. Exceptions include unobtrusive recordings made by a party, representative or member of the media if authorized by the tribunal. Learn more about this amendment.