Province of Manitoba | fs - Policies and Procedures

Policy and Procedures Manual

Summary of the Appeal Process

1. Filing an Appeal

To file an appeal, the appellant can fill out a Notice of Appeal form or write a letter to the Board. Notice of Appeal forms are available at the Board office and the regional social services offices. If an appellant wishes to appeal a decision but needs help filling out the Notice of Appeal form, the appellant should call the Board office.

An appeal may be mailed, faxed, emailed or dropped off in person to the BOARD office, at the following address:

Social Services Appeal Board
7th Floor – 175 Hargrave Street
Winnipeg MB R3C 3R8
Phone: 204-945-3003 or 204-945-3005
Fax: 204-945-1736

Appeals must include:

The appellant’s name, address and phone number
The name of the program being appealed
The decision made by the department that is being appealed
The appellant’s signature
A release form when a third party will be acting on the appellant’s behalf
The office the appeal is being filed against

The appeal form should include:

A short description of the reason for the appeal
A copy of any decision letters sent by the Department
Names and phone numbers of any lawyers or others who will be involved with the appeal

A copy of the Notice of Appeal will be sent to the office that originally made the decision along with a request that the Department provide the evidence it used to make the decision.

The hearing will be scheduled as soon as possible and no later than 35 days from when the appeal notice was received. In Winnipeg, the hearing will usually take place in the Board office. If an appellant lives outside of Winnipeg, the hearing will be held via teleconference or video conference. At its discretion, the Board may hold in-person hearings in rural locations if warranted by the number of appeals.

During the hearing, the appellant and a representative from the Department must be present. If they are not both present, they must be able to communicate with each other and the Board simultaneously (e.g. through video or teleconference).

Both parties will receive a Notice of Hearing letter at least seven days before the hearing date. This notice states the date, time and location of the hearing.

The appellant must call the Board office two days before the hearing date to confirm attendance.

There is a significant operational impact on the Board when a hearing is cancelled because the appellant does not confirm their attendance, or confirms their attendance but does not attend the hearing. These cancellations affect the ability of the Board to schedule other appeals within the 35 day legislated time limit, inconvenience Board members and result in poor use of Board resources.

To reduce the number of hearings cancelled because appellants do not confirm their attendance, or do not show up for their hearing, the Board has adopted the following policy:

Appellants must confirm their attendance with the Board office two working days before their hearing
If the appellant does not call by 2:00 pm the day before the hearing, the hearing will be cancelled and the appeal will be dismissed.
Subject to the Board’s discretion, if the appellant did not call to confirm their attendance, but shows up at the place and time scheduled for the hearing, the hearing will not be held.
If the appellant calls to confirm they will attend the hearing, does not show up at the hearing, or is more than 15 minutes late, the appeal will be dismissed.
If an appellant who does not attend a scheduled hearing contacts the Board office the day of the hearing and provides a legitimate reason for missing the hearing, the hearing will be rescheduled. The reason for non-attendance must be reasonably unforeseeable, such as illness, death in the family, or a transportation problem on the way to the hearing.
If an appellant does not show up for their hearing and does not call on the day of the hearing with a legitimate reason for missing the hearing, the appeal will not be rescheduled unless the appellant writes a letter to the Board explaining the reason for non-attendance, and requesting the file be reopened. The Board will decide if the file should be reopened.

2. Determining the Basis of an Appeal

An appeal may be returned to the appellant if it does not clearly identify the issues under appeal, or if pertinent information is missing. Alternatively, the Board office may contact the Department to determine if the basis of appeal can be determined.

3. Extension of Time Limits for an Appeal

Anyone wanting to appeal a Department decision must file their appeal within 30 days after the date of the decision. However, the Board has the power to extend the time limit for filing an appeal.

Procedure for granting an extension

The Board shall accept all appeals filed within 3 months of the decision date unless the Department objects.
The Board shall reject all appeals filed more than 3 months late unless the appellant cites extreme extenuating circumstances (e.g. hospitalization, death of loved one, sudden homelessness leading to loss of files).
If the Department objects, the Board shall request a written response to the objection from the appellant. The objection and the response, if received, shall be reviewed by a single member panel for decision on whether to extend the appeal time frame.
In exceptional circumstances, the Board may ask the parties to appear before them to answer questions before making a ruling on whether or not to grant an extension.

4. Classification of Appeals

The Social Services Appeal Board Amendment Act introduced a number of changes to the appeal process. The Board implemented changes to its policies and procedures to give effect to the legislative changes. The new policies and procedures took effect on the day The Social Services Appeal Board Amendment Act received Royal Assent.

Revised Appeal Process

The Board office receives the appeal.
The SSAB Director screens the appeal against the summary dismissal criteria.
If the appeal does not meet the dismissal criteria, go to step 9.
If the appeal meets the criteria, the Board office notifies the appellant and requests a response.
At the earlier of receipt of the response or the response deadline, the Board office will place the appeal on agenda of next single-member panel.
The member will review the appeal and the response against the criteria and determine if the appeal should be dismissed.
If the member dismisses the appeal, a decision will be prepared and sent to the appellant.
If the member refuses to reject the appeal, go to step 9.
For all appeals not summarily dismissed, the Board office will request a report from the Department.
When the report is received, the Board office will screen the appeal against the criteria for single member panels.
If the appeal does not meet the criteria for single member panels, go to step 17.
If the appeal does meet the criteria, the Board office will notify the appellant and request any additional written material the appellant wishes to submit.
At the earlier of receipt of response or response deadline, the Board office will place the appeal on the agenda of the next single-member panel.
If the member renders a decision, an order and the reasons will be prepared and sent to the appellant and Department.
Either party may request a reconsideration or seek leave from the Court of Appeal.
After reviewing the evidence, a member may choose to refer the appeal to a full panel. If the appeal is referred to a full panel, go to step 17.
For in-person appeals before a full panel, the Board office will schedule a hearing and send out the hearing package.
The full panel will hold the hearing and issue an order with reasons. The office will send the order and reasons to the appellant and Department.
Either party may request a reconsideration or seek leave from the Court of Appeal.

Licensing Appeals

Child care facility and residential care facility appeals can be complex and focused primarily on legal arguments.

Experience has shown that the standard appeal process must be modified to meet the requirements of procedural fairness.

The Board delegates to the Director the authority to modify the appeal process for licensing appeals by:

Extending the deadline for submitting the Department’s report, with the consent of the appellant.
Providing the appellant with time to prepare a response brief prior to scheduling a hearing.
Providing additional time for the parties to submit response briefs.
Scheduling hearings on procedural and evidentiary matters prior to scheduling the main hearing.

Summary Dismissal

Section 15.1 of the amended Social Services Appeal Board Act permits the Board to dismiss appeals without a hearing under certain circumstances.

15.1(1) The appeal board may dismiss an appeal or part of an appeal if

it is not within the jurisdiction of the appeal board;
it was not filed within the applicable time limit;
in the opinion of the appeal board, its subject matter is trivial or the appeal is not made in good faith or is frivolous, vexatious or an abuse of process;
in the opinion of the appeal board, there is no reasonable prospect that it will succeed; or
its subject matter is being or has been dealt with appropriately according to a procedure provided for under another Act.

A decision made under section 15.1(1) cannot be appealed to the Court of Appeal.

15.1(1) Screening Criteria

(a) Not within the jurisdiction

The program is not designated in the Act.
The program is designated in the Act but the type of decision is not designated.
The decision can only be made by a Minister’s designate.
No appealable decision has been made.
1. The dispute is over an administrative practice of the Department, including worker assignment, meeting requests and documentation requests (the consequence of not complying with the request is appealable);
2. The Department letter advises of future consequences for non-compliance; or
3. The decision is still pending, unless the delay is unreasonable.
The appellant is with the Public Guardian and Trustee, and the PGT has not signed the appeal form.
The appeal subject has already been heard by the Board, and no new decision has been made by the Department.
The decision has been made by another tribunal or court.
The appellant intends to make a Charter rights argument.

(b) Not filed within the applicable time limit

The Board shall accept all appeals filed within 3 months of the decision date unless the Department objects.
The Board shall reject all appeals filed more than 3 months late unless the appellant cites extreme extenuating circumstances (e.g. hospitalization, death of loved one, sudden homelessness leading to loss of files).
If the Department objects, the Board shall request a response to the objection from the appellant. The objection and the response, if received, shall be reviewed by a single member panel for decision on whether to extend the appeal time frame.
In exceptional circumstances, the Board may ask the parties to appear before them before making a ruling on whether or not to grant an extension.

(c)(i) trivial

The appeal concerns the denial of funding for a specific expenditure when the appellant is in receipt of a global amount intended to cover that type of expenditure.
The appeal concerns a discrepancy in dates of less than three days.
Any other appeal where a panel of three Board members determines that the appeal is trivial.

(c)(ii) not made in good faith

The appellant has an established record of repeated harassing, disruptive or threatening behaviour.
The appellant makes threats to the Board or its staff when filing the appeal or prior to the hearing.
The appellant files an appeal and then requests an indefinite postponement or a lengthy postponement without a valid reason.
The appellant has abandoned more than 5 consecutive appeals since the last hearing he or she attended.
The appellant does not respond to requests from the Board for clarification or additional information.
Any other appeal where a panel of three Board members determines that the appeal was not filed in good faith.

(c)(iii) Frivolous, vexatious or harassing

The essence of the appeal is that the Department’s decision is invalid because of a minor deficiency in procedure or a minor variation from policy.
The appeal presents no justiciable question and is readily recognizable as devoid of merit.
The appellant has filed repeated appeals upon the same set of facts.
The appeal has been initiated maliciously or without probable cause.
The appellant insists on proceeding with the appeal even though the issue under appeal has been resolved.
The appellant refuses to advance his or her appeal without a valid reason.
The appeal is targeted at the Board, its employees and Department employees, rather than at Department decisions.
The appellant also files complaints with other tribunals about the actions of the Board despite the Board’s statutory and judicial immunity.
The appeal contains an unreasonable number of points that can be clearly construed as an attempt to frustrate the operation of the hearing process or the Board’s administrative operations.

(d) No reasonable prospect of success

The appeal solely concerns the amount of a benefit payment whose value is established by statute or regulation, where the eligibility for the benefit or payment is not in dispute.
The appellant has previously appealed the issue unsuccessfully, and the set of facts and circumstances in the new appeal are substantially the same as in the previous appeal.
The appellant is requesting a benefit or entitlement for which he or she is clearly not entitled (e.g. private market rent assistance when the appellant resides in subsidized housing).
The set of facts and circumstances in the appeal are substantially the same as in a group of appeals previously heard by the Board, where no appellant had succeeded.
The issue has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the appellant and the Department.

(f) Dealt with somewhere else

The appeal concerns an issue that has already been decided in a different forum.

5. Request for Department Report

Once an appeal has been accepted, the Notice of Appeal is sent to the office that made the decision. The office should call the Board with any concerns about the basis of the appeal, time frame of the appeal, or any scheduling restrictions.

The Department must send an appeal report to the Board by the deadline set by the Board office, to ensure that it can be mailed to the appellant before the hearing. In exceptional circumstances the Department may send a written request to the SSAB Director to extend the report due date.

The report should include all documents relevant to the decision. The Board has the power to exclude evidence.

Content Guidelines for Income Assistance, General Assistance or Shelter Assistance Reports

For a hearing to be fair and efficient, it is important to have all department information presented in advance.

Name of appellant
Category of assistance
List of family members living with appellant (SAMIN printout is acceptable)
Date of most recent enrollment
Budget breakdown, both current and as of decision date if different (SAMIN printout is acceptable)
Most recent application and/or the application relevant to the appeal issues, as required by law (date of last assistance and closing date, if applicable)
Objective, chronological and dated sequence of events leading up to the decision being appealed
Date of decision
Printed name and signatures of case coordinator and direct supervisor
All supporting documents that the Department used to make the decision
Legal basis for the Department’s decision, including relevant regulation and policies
Applicable decision letters sent to the appellant

Note: For programs other than EIA, contact the Board Director for help with report content.

6. Determination of the Panel Format

For all appeals not summarily dismissed, the Board office will request a report from the Department. When the report is received, the Board office will screen the appeal against the criteria for single member panels.

The following appeals will be diverted to single member panels:

Rent Assist appeals where the sole basis of appeal is a change in financial circumstances.
55 Plus appeals where the sole basis of appeal is a change in financial circumstances.
Child Care Subsidy appeals where the sole basis of appeal is a change in financial circumstances.
Child Care Qualification appeals where the appellant has graduated from a child care training program based in Quebec.
All Prenatal Benefit appeals.
Appeals of EIA files closed because work expectations were not met.
Appeals of EIA files closed because the initial application was not completed.
Appeals of EIA files closed for lack of contact with the appellant.
EIA appeals for damage deposits denied or overpayments assessed for subsequent deposits.
EIA appeals for deduction of government payments not exempted by the Act.
EIA appeals for health telephone and health bus denials.
Disputes over the amount of assistance paid where it appears the dispute arises from confusion over the timing of cheques or over deficit payments.
Hearings on objections.
Any other appeal where a panel of three Board members determines that the appeal should be heard by a single member panel.

Screening rules

The Director will review all incoming appeals against the list above, and determine if the appeal should be referred to a single member panel for a hearing on the written record.
If the appeal is referred to a single member panel, the appellant will be provided with a chance to expand on his or her arguments prior to the single panel hearing. If the response indicates that the matter is more complicated than expected, if oral arguments appear useful, or if the appellant identifies a barrier to communicating in writing, the Director may recommend to the next available single member panel that the matter be referred to a full panel.
If the issue is that the policy has been applied incorrectly, a single member panel can be used. If the issue is that the policy is inconsistent with the regulation, or that an exception is warranted, then the matter should be referred to a full panel.
A single member panel may refer any appeal that comes before it to a full panel.

7. The Hearing Process

The Board has the power to hold hearings with either a single-member panel or a three-member panel.

Single-member panel hearings will be based on the written record. Neither the appellant nor the Department may attend.

Three-member panel hearings (“full hearings”) will hear oral evidence, as well as review the written evidence. The appellant and the Department must attend. Attendance can be in-person, by telephone or by video-conference.

The appeal hearing is an informal meeting, so that the appellant and the Department will feel comfortable.

Three members of the Board sit as a panel to hear an appeal. One of the members will chair the hearing. The Chair is in control of the hearing, and may direct any participant in the hearing. The Chair has the power to end a hearing if a party does not comply with his or her direction.

A staff person of the Board will attend the hearing and take notes. The notes are not a verbatim summary of the hearing, and may contain advice to assist the Board in its deliberations. The notes are for internal use only, and are exempt from FIPPA disclosure under section 23(1)(a) and (b).

No recording of the hearing is allowed.

The appellant may bring a lawyer, advocate or another person to speak on their behalf or to give evidence. The Department will send a representative who can best explain the reasons for the Department’s decision. A hearing is usually open to the public, but it may be closed at the request of the appellant.

The Chair begins the hearing by asking everyone in the room to introduce themselves. The Chair then explains what is expected of everyone present.

The appellant and the Department’s representative each give a brief presentation that summarizes their position. The appellant can speak first or ask the Department to speak first. The appellant will give information about why they disagree with the Department’s decision. The Department’s representative will provide reasons for making the decision.

Both the appellant and the Department representative should be aware that the Board reviews all the written evidence prior to the hearing. It is unnecessary to read the evidence to the Board. The hearing participants should focus on explaining why the evidence supports their position.

After the presentations are finished, the Board members will ask questions. The Chair will ask both parties if they have any questions for the other party.

If a hearing is terminated prematurely by the Chair, the Board may decide to make a decision and issue an order based on the written evidence and any oral evidence presented during the hearing.

The length of the hearing will be set by the SSAB Director, based on Board experience with the issue being appealed. Simple appeals are scheduled for 45 minutes, while more complex appeals are scheduled for 1 hour. CLdS hearings are scheduled for two hours. Parties to the hearing are expected to work within the scheduled time. In exceptional circumstances the Board may adjourn a hearing and reconvene at a later date.

After the hearing is over, the panel will meet in private to decide whether to confirm, vary, or rescind the decision of the designated officer. This decision will be based on the written and verbal information presented at the hearing, according to law.

8. Admissible Evidence

Under The Social Services Appeal Board Act, the rules of evidence do not apply to the judicial procedures at the Board hearings. While the Chair of each hearing has the final authority to rule on admissible evidence, the Board has guidelines to help appellants and respondents know what information will be accepted at the hearing. The guidelines do not include every example. Remember:

Information needs to be relevant to the issue under appeal.
Spoken (verbal) evidence and hearsay (information you have heard but were not told directly) are admissible. Proper consideration will be given to this evidence in decision making.
The information must be provided to the Board office far enough in advance that it can be distributed and considered by the other party to the appeal. Information submitted the day of the appeal is typically not allowed. This includes teleconference hearings and single-member panels.
The Board may ask for more information before or during a hearing.
Once the hearing is closed, no more information can be considered by the Board.

Under The Social Services Appeal Board Act, there is no requirement for the appellant to give any documents to the Board or Department before the hearing, but they may do so if they choose. The Department may object to the introduction of evidence it has not seen prior to the hearing, and the Board may refuse to admit it.

9. Requiring the Attendance of Witnesses

The Department, the appellant or the Board may ask witnesses to attend the hearing. Information from witnesses may be needed to help the Board get all information needed to make a fair decision.

The Board prefers that witnesses attend voluntarily. However, if a witness has relevant information and does not want to appear, either party can send a written request to the Board to have a summons prepared that requires the witness to attend. The Board may issue a summons on its own initiative.

A summons is a legal document served to the witness. It includes the hearing time and location and the information that the witness must bring. The Board can ask why a summons is needed. The Board may refuse to issue a summons if they determine the witness’ attendance is not needed.

Requests for a summons must include the person’s full name, address and a description of why that person’s testimony is important to the appeal. If the witness is required to bring certain documents, the request must indicate to the Board the type of documents required. If the Board grants the request, a summons will be issued.

The person requesting the summons is responsible for serving it (making sure the summons is put in the witness’s hands). The Board office can help with this, if necessary.

The respondent must advise the Board if any witnesses will be attending the hearing voluntarily. This is to ensure that enough time is scheduled for the hearing. It is also in keeping with the natural justice principle that the appellant should know the case against them before the hearing.

10. The Order and Reason for Decision

All decisions of the Board are sent in writing to both parties within 15 days of the hearing.

The staff of the Board cannot tell either party of the Board’s decision.

The Board’s decision has two parts - the order and the written reasons for that decision.

The order lists:

The name of the appellant
The name of the respondent
The basis for the appeal
The Board decision
Any action the Board is requiring the respondent to take

The reasons for decision will include:

A summary of the basic facts and evidence presented at the hearing
Reference to the law that was relevant in the Board’s decision
The Board’s analysis of the information and law
The reason for the decision

11. Security

The Board must ensure the safety of persons who attend hearings. Steps can be taken to address any safety concerns by discussing these concerns with the SSAB Director. In some cases, the Board may need security officers at the hearing if there is a reasonable safety risk from one or more persons attending the hearing. Requests for security to be present at the hearing must be made in writing to the SSAB Director, who has sole responsibility for determining if the request will be granted.

12. Hearings Outside of Winnipeg

If an appellant lives outside of Winnipeg, the hearing will be held via teleconference or video conference. Appellants who live in close proximity to Winnipeg may request an in-person hearing at the Board office.

At its discretion, the Board may hold in-person hearings in rural locations if warranted by the number of appeals. The SSAB Director has sole responsibility for determining where and how to hold a hearing.

13. Costs to Attend a Hearing

The Board does not pay for the costs associated with attending a hearing.

14. Adjournments

The Board has the power to adjourn a hearing when necessary.

The appellant, the Department, or the Board itself may request an adjournment. Most often, adjournments occur because of lack of time to complete a hearing, one of the parties needs to seek additional documentation, or there is a request from one of the parties or the Board for a witness to appear.

If the Department requests that a hearing be adjourned until a later date, the Board may grant the adjournment with conditions. If adjourning the hearing would cause financial hardship for the appellant, the Board may grant the adjournment but ask the Department to provide financial help until the hearing starts again. If the Department does not agree to help, then the Board may refuse to adjourn the hearing.

When a hearing is adjourned, the same panel would preside over the hearing when it is reconvened. If this is not possible, then the hearing would be re-started with a new panel.

15. Filing More than One Appeal

When an appellant files more than one appeal, the SSAB Director may decide to combine the appeals into one hearing or to schedule multiple appeals on the same date. The wishes of the appellant and the Department, the legislated time frames and panel availability will be considered when deciding to combine multiple appeals.

When related appellants file separate appeals of the same issue, the SSAB Director may decide to combine the appeals, or to hold a joint hearing for the separate appeals.

If an appellant files one appeal notice with more than one unrelated appeal issue, the SSAB Director may decide to split the appeal into multiple appeals.

16. Rescheduling and Postponements

Hearings must be scheduled within 35 days of receiving an appeal, unless the appellant asks for a postponement.

When a file has been on hold (pending) for more than 3 months, the appellant must provide a written reason for the delay. If the Board is not satisfied with the explanation, a hearing may be scheduled or the appeal may be considered withdrawn.

Appellants are asked to contact the Board office as soon as possible if they are unable to make the hearing date. Appellants must confirm two days before their hearing date or their hearing will be cancelled.

The Notice of Hearing advises applicants that requests for postponement will not be granted the same day as the hearing. In some cases (e.g. illness, family emergency), the SSAB Director may allow a postponement on the same day as the hearing.

The Department is expected to have a designate at the hearing on the scheduled date.

The Board office usually does not contact the Department before scheduling a hearing. When the Department receives a Notice of Appeal, they should tell the Board office if there are any days that they are unable to attend. If there are exceptional circumstances, the Department may call the SSAB Director and ask for a new hearing date.

Both parties are expected to arrive at the hearing on time. While the hearing is conducted informally, the proceedings have a legal basis and the appearance and deportment of the participants should reflect that fact.

The Board will wait no longer than 15 minutes after the scheduled hearing start time. If one of the parties has not arrived by that time, the hearing will be cancelled.

When an appellant does not confirm or show for the hearing, they will be sent a letter telling them that their appeal is considered withdrawn.

17. Review and Reconsideration

Either party to the appeal may request a reconsideration of a Board’s decision.

A reconsideration request asks the Board to hold a new hearing on the appeal issue. Reconsideration requests are granted on one or more of these four grounds:

the original, three person process or decision was, or was perceived to be biased
the panel process inhibited the presentation or consideration of relevant evidence
If the decision was inconsistent with the legislation
If an obvious administrative error in calculation or relevant dates has occurred in the Board’s Order.

The written submission should clearly explain how one of the above issues is relevant to the request for reconsideration. A request that does not cite one of the four grounds, or that cites one of the grounds without argument or evidence, will be rejected by the SSAB Director.

A reconsideration request must be filed in writing within 30 days of the decision of the Board. It must include the reasons why the person filing the request believes that the Board erred in making the original decision. The Board does not have authority to extend the 30-day time limit.

The request can be written as a letter or e-mail and sent to the Board office. The Board will send a copy of the reconsideration request from the appellant or Department to the other party for a response. Both parties should be clear and detailed when writing their responses.

The Board makes a decision on a reconsideration request, based on the written submissions and any other documents submitted. The Board will decide within 30 days whether it will grant the reconsideration request.

Reconsideration requests will be reviewed by the next available panel of the Board, which may include one or more of the panel members who made the original decision. If the party requesting reconsideration would prefer not to have any original panel members, they must state this in the letter of request and give the reasons. The Board does not guarantee that the reconsideration panel will not have any original panel members.

If the reconsideration request is granted, the panel may make a change to the original Order of the Board or order a new hearing. If the reconsideration request is denied, the Board will tell both parties of their reasons in writing.

When a new hearing is granted based on (a), (b) or (c), a new hearing will be convened. The information presented at the first hearing, the Board’s original decision, the request for reconsideration and any other documentation received by the Board following the original decision will serve as part of the record for the hearing.

If a reconsideration request is granted on (d), the Board may amend the original order without a new hearing.

If the Department is granted a reconsideration, and the appellant does not respond or attend the new hearing, the Board will base its decision on the Department’s submission alone. If the appellant is granted a reconsideration, and the Department does not respond or attend the new hearing, the Board will make its decision based on the appellant’s submission alone.

Only one request for reconsideration from each party will be considered by the Board.

If a reconsideration request results in a new decision, it replaces the Board’s previous decision and must be honoured by both parties. If either party disagrees with the new decision, it can apply to the Court of Appeal.

18. Stay of Orders

The Social Services Appeal Board Act requires the designated officer to follow the Order of the Board, but does not give a time frame in which the Order must be carried out. The Department is expected to act on the Order of the Board immediately after receiving it.

There may be times when the Department disagrees with the decision of the Board and requests a reconsideration of that decision. In cases where the Board’s Order involves paying an appellant a lump sum of money, the Department may ask for a stay of the Order until a request for reconsideration has been reviewed. This will ensure that the appellant is not overpaid should the Board’s original decision be overturned.

The Department may ask for a stay of the Order as part of a reconsideration request. The appellant will have a chance to respond to this request. If the reconsideration request is not granted, then a suspension of the Order will also not be granted. If the reconsideration is granted, the Board will provide a written response as to whether or not they have also granted the suspension of the Order.

19. Court of Appeal

If the appellant or the Department disagrees with the decision of the Board, they may appeal the decision to the Court of Appeal. The party must first apply for leave to appeal. Either party has 30 days from the date of the Board’s Reasons for Decision to file for leave to appeal.

The Court will grant leave only under certain circumstances. The most important circumstances are that the Board must have made an error in law or jurisdiction, and that there must be a reasonable prospect of success. The Court will not grant leave if the leave request is based on a dispute over the facts.

The Board must inform both parties of their right to appeal a question of law or jurisdiction to the Court of Appeal.

An appellant may apply for a reconsideration and be heard at the Court of Appeal at the same time. In these cases, the Court of Appeal usually waits until all other options have been tried before deciding if it will hear an appeal. If the Board hears the reconsideration and the appellant still disagrees with the Board’s decision, the Court of Appeal will decide if it will hear the appeal.

20. Policy for Removing Personal Identifiers from Decision Posted Online

From time to time, the Board posts a representative sample of Board decisions on its website. The intent of publishing the decisions is to help individuals understand the work of the Board and how previous appeals have been decided.

In order to comply with the privacy requirement under Manitoba’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) and Personal Health Information Act (PHIA), personally identifying information that is not essential to the decision or decision making process will be removed from these decision letters. The Board will endeavor to limit the amount of information released to the minimum necessary for this purpose.

The SSAB Director will make the determination regarding which decisions will be posted online.

Complaints about the posting of personal information should be brought to the attention of the SSAB Director, or the FIPPA coordinator.

The Board does not send out individual notifications that a particular decision will be posted online. The following statement is on the SSAB website, in the SSAB waiting room, and on all Notice of Appeal Forms:

The Department of Families is authorized to collect personal information and personal health information under section 36(1)(b) of The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“FIPPA”) and section 13(1) of The Personal Health Information Act (“PHIA”) respectively, as the information is directly related to and necessary for the purposes of carrying out the duties of the Social Services Appeal Board (The Board). The Board has limited the information we are collecting about you to the minimum necessary for this purpose. The information you provide cannot be used or disclosed for any other purpose, unless you consent or we are authorized or required to do so by FIPPA and PHIA. To promote the transparency and accountability of The Board, a de-identified, anonymized version of its decision may be published on the Department of Families website. The Board takes every reasonable step to ensure that no identifying or potentially identifying information is included in the decision posted online. If you have any question about the information being collected under FIPPA and PHIA, please contact the FIPPA Coordinator at 204-945-2013 or 500-326 Broadway, Winnipeg MB R3C 0S5.

21. Advisory Capacity

Along with its role as an administrative tribunal, the Board has a mandate to advise and make recommendations to the Minister about social services in the programs specifically noted in The Social Services Appeal Board Act.

The Board meets on a regular basis to discuss issues that arise from the appeals. The Board makes recommendations to the Minister about particular patterns or issues of concern it has taken note of.

The Board also produces an annual report which contains statistical information on appeal activity and a summary of the board’s recommendations.