18. Appeals Committee

18.1. Establishment of Appeals Committee

There is hereby established an Appeals Committee from which panels of Council will be selected.

18.2. Duties and Powers

A panel of Council from the Appeals Committee shall:

  1. carry out the duties and powers of Council under sections 87 through 89 inclusive of the Act.
  2. carry out the duties and powers of Council under section 93 of the Act.
  3. carry out the duties and powers of Council under section 118 (6) to 118 (8) of the Act.
  4. exercise any other authority specifically delegated to it in the Regulations or these Bylaws.

18.3. Composition

  1. The Appeals Committee shall consist of six members of Council, appointed by Council, three of whom shall be public representatives and three of whom shall be Registered Nurses, subject to 15.4(b) of the Bylaws.
  2. Each Panel of Council drawn from the Appeals Committee shall consist of a minimum of four members of the Appeals Committee, with at least 50% of the Panel being public representatives.
  3. Panel decisions shall be by a majority vote. If a Panel is sitting with an even number and there is a tie vote, then the Chair shall cast a second and deciding vote.
  4. Council designates the Hearings Director to select the members of the Appeals Committee who will sit on a particular panel and select the Chair of each panel.

18.4. Term of Office

  1. The term of office of Appeals Committee members shall be one year, unless, at the time of appointment, Council specifies a different term.
  2. Members of Council appointed to the Appeals Committee shall continue to hold office after the expiry of the member’s term for the sole purpose of concluding appeal hearings that have commenced but not been completed.

18.5. Quorum

A quorum of the Appeal Committee is four members, two of whom must be public representatives.

18.6. Confidentiality

  1. Each member of the Appeals Committee shall keep information received as a member of the committee confidential.
  2. Information regarding a matter before the Appeals Committee shall be published or otherwise released only in accordance with the Act, the Regulations, these Bylaws, or as otherwise required by law.
  3. Appeals Committee may authorize the disclosure of information for statistical use when the information cannot be attributed to a particular individual or facility.

18.7. College Expenses for an Application Under Section 93 of the Act

A Panel of Council may direct the investigated person to pay, within the time set by the panel of Council, all or part of the expenses of, costs of and fees related to the section 93 HPA application, including:

  1. Legal expenses and legal fees for legal services provided to the College, Complaints Director and a Panel of Council;
  2. Travelling expenses and a daily allowance, as determined by the Council, for the members of the panel of Council who are not public members;
  3. The costs of creating a record of the proceedings and transcripts and of serving documents; and
  4. Any other expenses of the college directly attributable to the application.

18.8. Filing Deadlines and Length of Submissions to the Appeals Panel

  1. At least six weeks before the date on which the appeal or review is set to be heard by the Appeals Panel, the appellant in an appeal or review must file with the Hearings Director one complete electronic copy in PDF format of their written submissions and authorities for the Appeal Panel, and serve a copy on the respondent party to the appeal or review.
  2. At least four weeks before the date on which the appeal or review is set to be heard by the Appeal Panel, the respondent in an appeal or review must file with the Hearings Director one complete electronic copy in PDF format of their written submissions to the Appeal Panel or a letter of intention not to file written submissions; and serve one additional copy on the appellant party to the appeal or review.
  3. A party may request the Hearings Director, with notice to the other party, to authorize a different date for the filing deadline applicable to the party.
  4. Written submissions by the appellant and the respondent must:
    1. be formatted using at least 12-point font, one-inch margins, and at least 1.5 line spacing, except for quotations; and
    2. not exceed 30 single-sided pages in length.
  5. A book of authorities is not limited to a specific number of pages, but the parties shall ensure that only relevant portions of any case authorities are reproduced, and relevant passages are highlighted.
  6. A party may request the Hearings Director, with notice to the other party, to authorize written submissions in excess of the 30-page limit applicable to the party.
  7. Oral argument must not exceed 60 minutes for each party in the appeal or review.
  8. A party may request, in advance of the date of the appeal or review, the Hearings Director, with notice to the other party, to authorize oral submissions in excess of the 60-minute limit applicable to the party.