The Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal held a stakeholder information session on September 14, 2023. Below is a summary of the content of the session for those who were unable to attend.
Chair Update
General Updates:
- The Tribunal’s Annual Report is now on the WSIAT’s website
- WSIAT staff & OICs remain on a hybrid mode
- WSIAT 7th floor reception & library are open to public Tuesdays and Thursdays 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
Hearing Formats:
- The default hearing option remains video conference
- First hybrid hearing (combination of in-person participants and remote participants) scheduled for October 2023
- In 2023, to date, 20 in-person hearings were scheduled
- Total annual hearings around 2,000+ - in-person hearings remain a very small percentage
- So far three in-person hearings have been confirmed for 2024
Time to Hearing:
- Currently about 4.5 months to hearing (from when party is hearing ready) – the Tribunal would like to bring this down
- In-person hearings may take longer to schedule especially if more people start requesting them
New Pre-Hearing Process:
- Will be implemented early 2024
- WSIAT will be holding information sessions on new process and information will be posted on their website
Observers at virtual hearings:
- The attendance of observers is at discretion of Vice-Chair / Panel
- An observer might be an emotional support person for witness/worker or a trainee – OIC, WSIAT staff, reps, college students
- Request for observers should be made at least one week in advance
- An observer must be on-camera and behind witness. Must not prompt witnesses
- Too many observers / parties could make hearing process difficult. Tribunal may limit observers
- Should not be distraction through process
- Representatives/parties need to comply with Practice Direction (PD), Who May Attend a Hearing, paragraph 4
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