Canadian Forces Grievance Board Rules of Procedure (Review of a Grievance by Way of a Hearing) (SOR/2000-294)

Interpretation

1 The definitions in this rule apply in these Rules.

Act

Act means the National Defence Act. (Loi)

document

document means any information, regardless of its form, and includes any correspondence, note, book, plan, map, drawing, photograph, film, microfiche, tape, or computerized or sound recording, or any reproduction of this information. (document)

grievance

grievance means a grievance that is referred to in section 29 of the Act. (grief)

grievor

grievor means any officer or non-commissioned member who grieves under section 29 of the Act. (plaignant)

hearing

hearing means a hearing to review a grievance. (audience)

hearing process officer

hearing process officer means any person who is appointed under subsection 29.19(1) of the Act or engaged under subsection 29.19(2) of the Act and who is authorized to act on behalf of the Registrar at a hearing. (agent d’audience)

party

party means the Canadian Forces or the grievor. (partie)

Registrar

Registrar means any person who is appointed in accordance with subsection 29.19(1) of the Act and who is designated as Registrar by the Chairperson of the Grievance Board. (greffier)

Application

2 These Rules apply to proceedings for the review of a grievance by way of a hearing.

Dispensation of Rules and Extension or Abridgement of Time Limits

3 The Grievance Board may dispense with any of these Rules in the interests of justice and where the circumstances and considerations of fairness require a dispensation so that the proceedings may be conducted as informally and expeditiously as possible.

• 4 (1) Any time limit that is set by the Grievance Board shall be determined in the interests of justice and to provide for as informal and expeditious a proceeding as possible, and the Grievance Board may, on its own initiative or on a motion, extend or abridge a time limit in which an act is to be done.

• (2) Where a time limit set out under these Rules falls on a Saturday or holiday, the time limit shall be extended to the next working day.

5 The Grievance Board shall inform the parties of any decision to dispense with any of these Rules or to extend or abridge a time limit.

Filing of Documents

• 6 (1) Where a document is to be filed with the Grievance Board in accordance with these Rules or a direction of the Grievance Board, the document may be filed by handing it to the Grievance Board if the Grievance Board is in session or by sending it to the Registrar by hand delivery, registered mail or courier or by facsimile transmission or electronic mail, where the necessary facilities for receipt in that manner exist.

• (2) Subject to subrule (3), the day on which a document is filed is the day on which the document is received by the Grievance Board or any person authorized by the Grievance Board to receive the document.

• (3) A document that is received by the Grievance Board after five o’clock in the afternoon of a business day when the Grievance Board is not in session is deemed to be filed with the Grievance Board on the next business day.

Service of Documents

7 A document may be served

• (a) by personal service, by registered mail or courier, with an acknowledgement of receipt, or by facsimile transmission or electronic mail if there are facilities for accepting service in that way; or

• (b) where service cannot be made in accordance with paragraph (a), by the publication at least twice within a period of seven days in a daily newspaper circulated in the place of the latest known residence of the person being served of a notice that sets out the contents of the document to be served and states that the document is filed with the Grievance Board.

8 Personal service may be effected

• (a) in the case of the Grievance Board, by leaving a copy of the document with a person who is authorized to accept service on behalf of the Grievance Board;

• (b) [Repealed, SOR/2008-137, s. 1]

• (c) in the case of any other person, by leaving a copy of the document with the person or with a duly authorized representative acting for the person or with another person who appears to be at least 16 years of age and who

  • (i) resides or is employed at the residence of the person being served, or

  • (ii) is employed at the principal office of the person being served as set out in any document filed during the proceedings.

• 9 (1) A document is served

  • (a) in the case of personal service, on the day that the document is left with the person referred to in rule 8 who is authorized to accept service;

  • (b) in the case of service by registered mail or courier, on the date that appears on the acknowledgement of service;

  • (c) in the case of service by facsimile transmission or electronic mail, on the date that appears on the acknowledgement of transmission; and

  • (d) in the case of service by daily newspaper as referred to in paragraph 7(b), on the day after the day on which the last notice was published in the newspaper.

• (2) Any document to be served on a person shall set out the name or official title of the person.

• (3) A person who serves a document on another person, other than the Grievance Board, shall, as proof of service, without delay file a declaration under oath or a solemn affirmation to that effect with the Grievance Board.

Requests for Documents

• 10 (1) A party may, in writing, request another party to produce without delay any relevant document that is in the party’s possession or control.

• (2) The request shall be addressed and delivered to the party or, where the Grievance Board requires that the request be served, served within the period determined by the Board. It shall also be filed with the Board.

• (3) In the case of a request for information, each item of information that is requested shall be numbered consecutively.

• 11 (1) A party who receives a request shall

  • (a) deliver a copy of the document to the other party and file a copy with the Grievance Board; and

  • (b) in the case of a request for information, provide a full and adequate reply on a separate page for each item of the request.

• (2) A party who does not comply with subrule (1) shall, within a period that the Grievance Board establishes,

  • (a) set out the grounds for non-compliance;

  • (b) produce a statement that describes any other document that would be of assistance to the party who made the request; and

  • (c) deliver a copy of the grounds and, if applicable, the statement to the other party and file a copy with the Grievance Board.

• (3) A party who has made a request and who has not received the document or a full and adequate reply may, by motion, request the Grievance Board to order the production of the document.

• 12 (1) Where a party does not comply with subrule 11(1) or (2), the party may not put the document in evidence at a hearing unless the Grievance Board determines that, in the interests of justice and to provide for as informal and expeditious a hearing as possible, those subrules need not be complied with.

• (2) Where a party does not comply with subrule 11(1) or (2), the party who made the request for the document may introduce secondary evidence of the content of the document where authorized to do so by the Grievance Board in the interests of justice and to provide for as informal and expeditious a hearing as possible.

Stay of Proceedings

13 Where a party has not complied with these Rules or any direction of the Grievance Board, the Grievance Board may stay the proceedings until the Rules or direction have been complied with or take such other steps as the Grievance Board considers fair and reasonable.

Questions to Be Determined

• 14 (1) A question of jurisdiction or procedure may be determined at any time during the proceedings and the Grievance Board may decide not to continue with the proceedings until after the question is determined.

• (2) At any stage of the proceedings, the Grievance Board may, in accordance with the Federal Courts Act, refer any question of law, jurisdiction or procedure to the Federal Court for a hearing and determination and the Grievance Board may, pending the final determination of the question, order the whole or part of the proceedings to be stayed.

Conference

15 The Grievance Board may, by any means that allows the parties or their representatives to communicate with each other, hold a conference for the purpose of considering any of the following:

• (a) the clarification and simplification of contentious issues;

• (b) the admission of particular facts or of information;

• (c) the procedure to be followed in connection with requests for documents;

• (d) the procedure to be followed at the hearing;

• (e) the exchange of documents among parties; and

• (f) any other matter that may aid in the clarification and simplification of the evidence and the preparation of the findings and recommendations of the Grievance Board.

• 16 (1) The member of the Grievance Board who presides at the conference shall keep minutes of it and record in them any agreement that is reached.

• (2) The Grievance Board may decide an issue in respect of which an agreement has not been reached at the conference so that the hearing may be conducted as informally and expeditiously as possible.

• (3) The Grievance Board shall have a copy of the minutes and any decision that it makes after the conference delivered to the parties.

• (4) Agreements reached and decisions made by the Grievance Board shall be applied at the hearing.

Notice of Hearing

17 A notice of a hearing shall be served at least 10 days before the day fixed for the hearing.

Summons

• 18 (1) A summons to require the attendance of a witness and to require the witness to produce documents under the witness’s control that are relevant to the review of the grievance shall be in the form set out in the schedule.

• (2) A party may require the attendance of a witness

  • (a) by completing a summons that is then signed by the Grievance Board; or

  • (b) by forwarding the name and address of the proposed witness to the Registrar at least seven days before the witness is required to appear and by requesting the Grievance Board to complete and sign the summons.

• (3) The summons shall be issued by the Grievance Board and sealed with the Grievance Board’s seal. It shall then be served by the party or, on the request of the party, by the Grievance Board.

19 A person who has been summoned may, before appearing as a witness or at any other time, by motion request payment of the fees and allowances that are payable to a witness summoned before the Federal Court.

Expert Witness

20 A party who wishes to have an expert witness testify at a hearing shall, at least 20 days before the testimony,

• (a) deliver to the other party a copy of the report of the expert witness or, in the absence of a report, a written summary of the testimony of the expert witness together with the name, address and qualifications of the witness; and

• (b) file with the Grievance Board or the Registrar a copy of the report or summary.

Interlocutory Motions

• 21 (1) A party may bring a motion before the Grievance Board, in writing or orally, in respect of any question that arises during the proceedings.

• (2) A motion shall clearly and concisely state the facts, the order sought and the grounds for it.

• (3) A written motion shall be filed with the Registrar, or during the hearing, with the hearing process officer and shall be served on the other party to the proceedings.

• (4) The Grievance Board may dispose of a motion orally or in writing.

Written Submissions

• 22 (1) The Grievance Board may permit the parties to file written submissions for the purpose of clarifying a question.

• (2) On receiving the submissions from a party, the Grievance Board shall provide a copy of them to the other party.

• (3) The other party may, within 14 days after receiving the submissions, file a written response to them with the Grievance Board.

• (4) [Repealed, SOR/2008-137, s. 5]

Arguments

23 The Grievance Board may direct a party to file a written argument in addition to any oral argument.

Sittings

24 A hearing, once begun, shall proceed from day to day, including evenings and Saturdays, if the Grievance Board determines that those sittings are necessary in order to provide for as informal and expeditious a hearing as possible.

Adjournment

25 The Grievance Board may adjourn any hearing for such time or to such date and to such place and on such terms as the Grievance Board considers advisable in order to provide for as informal and expeditious a hearing as possible.

Withdrawal of Grievance

26 At any time during the proceedings a grievor may withdraw a grievance, either orally before the Grievance Board or by written notice addressed to the Grievance Board.

Conflict of Interest

• 27 (1) A Grievance Board member shall without delay notify the Chairperson, orally or in writing, of any real or potential conflict of interest, including where the member, apart from any functions as a member, has or had any personal, financial or professional association with the grievor.

• (2) Where the Chairperson determines that the Grievance Board member has a real or potential conflict of interest, the Chairperson shall request the member to withdraw without delay from the proceedings, unless the parties agree to be heard by the member and the Chairperson permits the member to continue to participate in the proceedings because the conflict will not interfere with a fair hearing of the matter.

Official Languages

28 At a hearing before the Grievance Board, a party is entitled to make representations, present evidence and examine and cross-examine witnesses in either official language.

Availability of Documents

29 During normal business hours of the Grievance Board, documents filed in the course of the proceedings shall be made available to the parties, who may make copies of them.

Coming into Force

30 These Rules come into force on the day on which they are registered.