Agri-Food Act Appeal Committee

Rules and Procedures

General

1. Proceedings of the hearing are to be considered confidential. Only if both parties agree, information shared during the hearing may be communicated externally.
2. Participants are asked to concentrate on the issue at hand rather on the personalities. The key to understanding a problem is focusing on the issue(s) that are factors affecting a desired outcome. It is therefore important not to focus on the person delivering the message, rather, the message itself.
3. Participants are expected to be open and honest in expressing their views.
4. Participants are encouraged to actively listen to what other participants have to say. The chair reserves the right to rule any remark, issue or participant "out-of-order".
5. No recording devices are to be used during the hearing unless first obtaining the permission of the Chairperson of the Appeal Committee.
6. The Chairperson of the Appeal Committee reserves the right to conduct any appeal hearing by teleconference.
   

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Role of the Appellant

1. To contact his/her own witness(es) to invite them to the hearing.

2. To advise the Secretary, who will be attending the hearing as witness(es).

3. To bring sufficient copies to the hearing of any written evidence for the Committee.

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Observers

1. Observers are not appellants at a specific hearing.
2. An individual may request permission to observe an appeal hearing from the Secretary, Agri-Food Appeal Committee (787-0611).
3. The Committee reserves the right to exclude any observers from attending a hearing and may determine the maximum number of observers that may attend an appeal hearing.
4. Observers cannot participate in any way in any discussion.
5. Observers may be disqualified entry once a hearing has commenced.
6. The Chair shall request that observers leave the appeal if, in any way, their behavior is inappropriate.
   

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Authority of the Agri-Food Act Appeal Committee

1. Members of the Committee must exempt themselves from the hearing where the member could gain, or could be perceived to gain, from the decision. This includes participation in decisions related to:

• their work or business;
• their family or personal friends;
• for which they have declared a bias for or against.

2. Only the appealed factors are subject to discussion. The chair reserves the right to rule on any factors as relevant, or not relevant to the case under discussion.

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Witness' Function

1. Appellants or the Agency may call witnesses.
2. Witnesses may only answer questions for clarification of observations. They are not to present a case, nor express their opinion on the outcome of the hearing. Responses are to be individual, without interruption and addressed to the Committee.
3. The questions must pertain to facts about which the witnesses have first-hand knowledge. If questions are asked which the witness(es) cannot answer from their own knowledge, they should decline to answer on that basis.
   

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Role of the Chair

The Chair will:

1. Make any opening remarks he/she considers appropriate.
2. Call appellants, analysts, witnesses and observers, into the hearing room or teleconference.
3. Ensure everyone is introduced (name, representation).
4. Outline the procedures of the hearing.
5. Outline that the basis of the appeal decision may include any evidence considered relevant by the Committee.
6. The Chair has authority and shall excuse any observer whose behavior is inappropriate.
7. The Chair must ensure that the question period does not become a discussion. This is to be question and response, both without interruption.
8. The Chair shall ensure the hearing is run in an expeditious manner and has the authority to move the discussion along in the event that information is repetitious, or not relevant to the factor under appeal. The Chair must focus the presentations on information relevant to the facts/issues under appeal and may limit the length of discussion on the factor and may request that the Committee take breaks after a certain length of time.
9. In the event that an appeal hearing is running longer than scheduled, the Chair may stop the proceedings and indicate how long the wait might be.
   

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Procedures in the Appeal Hearing

1. Preliminary

• The Chairperson ensures that everyone is introduced, including observers and witnesses.
• The Chairperson (or Secretary) outlines the role, authority and procedures of the appeal hearing and the authority of the Committee decision.

2. Evidence

All written evidence to be presented must be made available at the hearing to all parties. In the case of a teleconference, written material must be provided to the Secretary no later than 10 days in advance of the teleconference.

3. Presentation Order

• The appellant or advocate presents rationale for their case without interruption. No questions will be asked at this point by any party.
• In group appeals, the group shall identify a spokesperson who shall make the presentation. For large groups, the group shall select representatives to present their appeal. Other members of the group shall be asked if they have additional examples to add, until such time as the Committee feels they have enough information to make a decision. This shall not be in the form of a discussion, but in the form of individual statements to the Committee. If the information being presented is repetitious or not relevant to the factor, the Chair has the authority to move the discussion on.
• The Agency representative then presents the rationale for their decision(s), without interruption.
• The Chairperson will provide for a question period at the end of both party's presentation. The purpose of the questioning is to clarify how evidence presented relates to the issue. Responses are to be directed to the Committee.
• At the conclusion of presentations, the Chairperson will ask if either party wishes to question the witness(es). It is the role of the Chair to ensure that witnesses speak only when questioned and that they do not speak to matters other than what is before the Committee.
• An opportunity for a short summary rebuttal shall be provided to both parties. The Appellant will summarize first, then the Agency. Where there is a group appeal, only the spokesperson shall be given rebuttal opportunity. For group appeals, prior to the rebuttal, a 5 to 10 minute break will occur to allow input to the rebuttal.

4. Deliberations

• The Chairperson will excuse the Agency representative and appellant, witnesses and observers after presentations and discussion.
• If the appeal may be temporarily adjourned in the event the Committee requires additional information.

Release of Decisions

The Secretary, Appeal Committee, shall release final decisions.