The hearing is scheduled when the parties are ready to proceed. A hearing is an official meeting where both parties present information (including, evidence and submissions) to the Member to support their side in a case. During the hearing, the Tribunal member may ask questions that will help them decide whether the Minister or the Agency’s administrative action was justified.
The Tribunal holds two different kinds of hearings:
- A review hearing involves the review of a decision made by the Minister or the Agency.
- An appeal hearing is a review of the initial decision made by the Tribunal. After the Tribunal makes its decision in a review hearing, a party might request an appeal hearing if they disagree with the review decision. The appeal hearing is heard by three members (panel).
The Tribunal tries to be as efficient and as informal as possible in its hearings, to ensure the process is fair and easily understood by all parties.
All parties in a review hearing can present evidence, provide witnesses, and make arguments in support of their case. However, the burden of proof is on the Minister of Transport or the Canadian Transportation Agency. This means the Minister’s or the Agency’s representative ultimately is responsible to prove that it is more likely than not that their administrative action was justified.
The steps are the same for most review hearings, though there are some differences in the laws involved in different areas of transportation.
- First, the Tribunal member will make an opening statement to explain the purpose and the process of the hearing. The member will also ask the parties if there are any motions or preliminary requests to discuss (see “What is a motion or preliminary request?”). Where possible, motions or preliminary requests should be raised well in advance of the hearing.
- The Tribunal member will then provide the parties with an opportunity to make their own opening statements. You do not have to make an opening statement; it is optional. An opening statement should be short (no more than a few minutes) and may include a brief summary of your position on the matter under review, and a summary of the key evidence and main arguments you will be presenting.
- The Minister’s representative (also referred to as the Case Presenter Officer) will present their case first, since they have the burden of proof. They will present their evidence and question their witnesses, if any.
- After the Minister presents each witness, the Applicant have the right to cross examine those witnesses. This means the Applicant can ask questions to the witnesses.
- Once the Minister has finished presenting their case, the applicant can present their case next, though you are not required to. As noted above, it is up to the Minister’s or the Agency’s Case Presenter to prove that their administrative action was valid.
- If the Applicant chooses to bring a witness or to testify themselves, the Minister’s or Agency’s Case Presenter Officer also has the right to cross examine the Applicant, or their witnesses.
- When both parties have finished presenting their cases, the Tribunal member will offer the parties a chance to make closing statements. The Minister will make its closing statement first, and then the applicant will have a chance to make their statement. The Minister will be offered an opportunity for the last “reply”.
- The Tribunal member will then close the hearing; the decision will be provided to the parties later.