The other day I wrote about the Landlord and Tenant Board. (Click here to read the blog.) Today I want to talk about the Social Benefits Tribunal, another provincial administrative tribunal that I appear before on a regular basis.
The Social Benefits Tribunal (SBT) hears appeals of decisions made under the Ontario Works Act and the Ontario Disability SupportProgram Act. While earlier act governs social assistance payments and benefits, commonly known as welfare benefits, the latter one governs assistance to individuals with disabilities.
The Tribunal is an independent body created under provincial legislation. The adjudicators (akin to judges) are called Members of the Tribunal, and are addressed as Mister or Madame Member. The Members are independent third parties who are in no way associated with or related to the previous decision-makers of the matters under appeal.
Common appeals to the SBT include the following:
- overpayment of social assistance benefits
- eligibility for social assistance
- failure to provide information
- interim assistance
- cancellation or suspension of social assistance benefits
- eligibility for disability benefits
- duration of disability benefits
In contrast to the Landlord and Tenant Board, Legal Aid Ontario does not provide duty counsels to give summary legal advice to those who appear before the Tribunal. Instead, legal assistance is provided by lawyers who are retained through Legal Aid Certificates given by Legal Aid Ontario to those who qualify. As the legislative intention under the acts mentioned above is to provide assistance to the most vulnerable members of society, appellants with genuine issues are generally qualified for Legal Aid.
Decisions by the SBT are not carved in stone. A party that does not agree with the decision may ask for a reconsideration. If the decision is confirmed under the reconsideration, it may be further appealed to the Divisional Court of the Superior Court of Ontario for a judicial review.
If the judge at the Divisional Court finds an error in law, or finds that the decision by the SBT is unreasonable, the decision will be rescinded. The Divisional Court does not subsitute its own opinion for the decision; rather, the matter is referred back to the Tribunal for a fresh hearing.
