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
- Make recommendations to the Board of Directors on how SOAR can best respond to administrative justice issues and promote innovative ideas
- Make recommendations to the Board of Directors on how SOAR funding can best be used to support innovative projects
- Pursue or collaborate on research on emerging issues of concern to the SOAR membership
- Create and maintain processes for the active engagement of the SOAR membership in the work of the Committee
- 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 2026, are:
Members
Katharine Evans, Committee Chair- Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal
Brian Cook- Condominium Authority Tribunal
Michael Huynh- IPO Ontario
Anne Gottlieb- Condominium Authority Tribunal
Josephine Racioppo - former adjudicator
Lori Marzinotto - former 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.
Committee News
The SOAR Access to Justice Index, 2025
The SOAR's Public Interest and Innovation Committee is pleased to present a self assessment tool that was designed to assist tribunals to evaluate the delivery of services to self represented parties with a view to showcasing these services to users.
The Access to Justice (A2J) Index for Tribunals in Ontario was developed by a subcommittee that reviewed a variety of resources. They researched and solicited input from different tribunals within Ontario who shared varying approaches and experiences. A draft document was circulated to experts in the areas of self represented parties and tribunals
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).
Principles that should govern the initial appointment of members of adjudicative tribunals are set out in SOAR’s Statement of Principles for the Appointment of Adjudicative Tribunal Members.
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).
Systems of evaluation of Tribunal members in Quebec
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.
This report is a follow up to the study conducted by SOAR regarding the impact of the government directive on term limits, which requires that order-in-council (OIC) appointments not exceed a maximum of 10 years published in 2015
See The Society of Ontario Adjudicators and Regulators “Study on the Impact of the
Advocacy and Innovation Committee Resources
SOAR Study on the Impact of the Government Directive on Term Limits for OIC Appointments
The SOAR Advocacy and Innovation Committee has published three documents of interest to the membership:
- Study on the Impact of the Government Directive on Term Limits for OIC Appointments
- Appendix to the Study on the Impact of the Government Directive on Term Limits for OIC Appointments
- SOAR Report on Tax Status for Part-Time OICs
Please use the following links to download a copy of each document.