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

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

REPORTING TO: SOAR Board of Directors

OVERALL PURPOSE OF COMMITTEE: To follow emerging issues and promote innovation in administrative justice

KEY GUIDING PRINCIPLES

  • Monitor current and emerging public interest issues in administrative justice
  • Identify innovative ideas of relevance to the administrative justice community
  • Foster and implement projects to support innovation in administrative justice

MAJOR COMMITTEE TASKS

  1. Make recommendations to the Board of Directors on how SOAR can best respond to administrative justice issues and promote innovative ideas
  2. Make recommendations to the Board of Directors on how SOAR funding can best be used to support innovative projects
  3. Pursue or collaborate on research on emerging issues of concern to the SOAR membership
  4. Create and maintain processes for the active engagement of the SOAR membership in the work of the Committee
  5. Foster working relationships with other organizations to develop partnerships on public interest issues of concern to the administrative justice community

NUMBER OF MEETINGS: 9-10 per year

STAFF LIAISON: SOAR Executive Director

SELECTION OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Members will include members of the Board of Directors and interested individuals in the broader SOAR community

DURATION OF COMMITTEE: Standing committee

 

The Committee members, as of January 2024, are:

Members

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

Katharine Evans, Committee Co-Chair- Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal

Heather Gibbs,  Immigration and Refugee Board

Michael Huynh- IPO Ontario

Anne Gottleib- Condominium Authority Tribunal

Josephine Racioppo -Tribunals Ontario

Romona Gananathan- Tribunals Ontario

Rosemarie McCutcheon - Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal

Lori Marzinotto - former License Appeal Tribunal Vice Chair

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 Report of Research of Tribunal Adjudicator Performance June 2023

SOAR recently conducted preliminary research on current adjudicator performance evaluation practices, with a focus on Ontario tribunals. We hope this research will be a first step in a broader project of developing best practice guidelines for tribunals that wish to engage in such evaluation activities. The report includes recommendations for next steps.

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.

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