Safety Standards Appeal Board
The Board
As an adjudicative tribunal, the Board is independent of any regulating body responsible for administering the provisions of the Safety Standards Act and the Homeowner Protection Act and any regulated industry.
While the chair is responsible to the appointing authority for the Board's performance, the Board operates at arms length from the government in its decision-making capacity.
Purpose
The Board's purpose is to resolve appeals from decisions made under the Safety Standards Act and the Homeowner Protection Act to determine if the decisions were fairly made in accordance with the provisions of the legislation.
The Board's objective is to carry out its work in a just, consistent, timely and cost-efficient manner.
Composition
The Board consists of a number of part-time members including the chair and several vice-chairs. All of the members are appointed by the responsible Minister through a merit-based process for a term of two to five years.
The Board members bring with them a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives, as well as expertise in the technical areas regulated by the Act.
The chair is responsible for the administration of the Board and organizing it into panels consisting of one or more members to manage and hear appeals. A panel of the Board has all the powers and duties of the Board and any order, decision or action of a panel is considered to be an order, decision or action of the Board.
Where the chair or a member of a panel becomes aware of any facts that would lead an informed person viewing the matter reasonably and practically to conclude that a member would, consciously or unconsciously, not decide a matter fairly, the member will not conduct the appeal unless consent is obtained from all parties.
