Federal cabinet ministers will soon decide whether and how to reform the oft-maligned tribunal Canadians use to appeal federal benefits rulings, potentially undoing changes made six years ago intended to make it work better.
The Social Security Tribunal hears appeals of government decisions on things like eligibility for Employment Insurance and the Canada Pension Plan. It replaced four separate bodies in 2013.
One key change was cutting the number of people hearing most cases from three to one. Another was to replace part-time hearing officials in many places with full-time staff in fewer locations.
A report last year from consulting firm KPMG estimated the moves saved about $22.6 million a year. Timelines for decisions also spiked as the tribunal was undermanned and overwhelmed with cases, and didn’t have a proper transition plan. The KPMG report argued the tribunal wasn’t designed with the appellants in mind.
Labour and employer groups have each told the government they want a return to the system as it existed before the tribunal’s creation. Still, KPMG warned against a return to that old system, saying the current one could be improved without a total makeover.
Officials are now expected to ask ministers to consider partially reverting to the three-person panels that once heard cases, or to go with a hybrid system of old and new, or simply make tweaks, say sources with knowledge of the recommendations, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss issues under cabinet review.
A spokesman for Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said the minister’s office couldn’t speak to, or verify the authenticity of, documents related to matters of cabinet confidences, which are closely guarded government secrets legally protected from unauthorized release.
In the fall, Duclos asked the new chairman of the tribunal to create a “client-centric culture” to make appeals move quickly and transparently.
The tribunal now allows people to choose whether to have their hearings in person, on the phone or by videoconference. Rule changes have also made it easier to launch an appeal and waiting times have dropped. The backlog of cases has fallen from about 7,250 in April 2017 to 3,925 at the end of last year.
