Public Interest and Innovation Committee (Former Advocacy and Innovation Committee)

The Public Interest and Innovation Committee (formerly Advocacy and Innovation Committee) is a new standing committee of SOAR. Its terms of reference are as follows:

  1. Identify emerging public interest issues and innovative ideas of relevance to the administrative justice community.

  2. Make recommendations for how SOAR can best pursue or respond to issues and ideas, and advocate on behalf of the SOAR membership on matters of concern to the membership.

  3. Create and maintain processes for the active engagement of the SOAR membership in the work of the Committee.

  4. Foster working relationships with other organizations to develop partnerships on public interest issues of concern to the administrative justice community.

In early 2015, the Committee embarked on a project which lead to a statement of principles on re-appointments for members of adjudicative tribunals. The first phase of this project consisted of a study of the impact of the “ten-year cap” on appointments. This research is now completed and the report, along with appendix, about the impact of the cap on Tribunals, members and the public is now available on our website. The second phase of the project will involve research into how other jurisdictions deal with the issue of term limits on appointments to adjudicative tribunals.

The Committee members, as of January 2023, are:

Members

Maureen Carter-Whitney, Committee Chair - Immigration and Refugee Board

Heather Gibbs,  Immigration and Refugee Board

Michael Huynh- The College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants 

Keith Cooper - Horse Racing Appeals Tribunal

Anne Gottleib- Condominium Authority Tribunal

Josephine Racioppo -Tribunals Ontario

Romona Gananathan- Tribunals Ontario

Rosemarie McCutcheon - Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal

Ex-Officio Member

Daphne Simon- SOAR Executive Director

 

If you are interested in becoming involved in the work of the Committee or have suggestions for further projects that the Committee could undertake, please consider volunteering by contacting our Executive Director, Daphne Simon, at daphne@soar.on.ca.

 

 

Public Interest and Innovation Committee (former Advocacy and Innovation) Updates

SOAR Statement of Principles of Reappointment of Adjudicative Tribunal Members November 2018

This document sets out principles that apply to the reappointment of members to adjudicative administrative tribunals in Ontario and in particular to the 37 adjudicative bodies with statutory judicial powers governed by the Adjudicative Tribunals Accountability, Governance and Appointments Act, 2009 (ATAGAA).

Statement Of Principles For the Appointment and Re-Appointments Of Adjudicative Tribunal Members

This document sets out principles that apply to the appointment of members to adjudicative administrative tribunals in Ontario and in particular to the 37 adjudicative bodies with statutory judicial powers governed by the Adjudicative Tribunals Accountability, Governance and Appointments Act, 2009 (ATAGAA).

Results and Research of appointments and re-appointments to Administrative Tribunals in Quebec

This paper was prepared for the Society of Ontario Adjudicators and Regulators (SOAR) as part of SOAR’s Advocacy and Innovation Committee's ongoing consideration of the issues of appointments and re-appointments of Order-in-Council appointments in Ontario. It supplements research done in 2014-15 by Aisha Amode, available on the SOAR website. The current paper was prepared by Zinejda Rita in April 2016. Ms. Rita is a law student at Osgoode Hall Law School.

Report on Findings Based on Comparative Study of Reappointments and Term Limits Across Canadian Jurisdictions

This report, commissioned by SOAR, outlines key findings and themes following a study of other Canadian jurisdictions on reappointments and term limits. The report discusses the study’s findings but does not set out SOAR’s views on the best approaches that should be followed in Ontario.  

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