Complaints Procedure

Purpose

The Agricultural Review Tribunal (CART) has a Code of Conduct that describes the standards of behaviour all CART members must follow. These standards support CART’s goal to provide efficient and fair processes, and to ensure that members behave in a fair, transparent, credible and impartial way.

If you feel that a member has behaved contrary to the Code of Conduct, you can make a complaint. This procedure establishes the process CART will follow to respond to your complaint.

If a procedural issue not provided for by this procedure arises during a complaint, CART may take any action it considers necessary to allow it to settle the issue in a way that is fair, timely, and inexpensive.

Who can make a complaint?

Any member of the public may make a complaint about a full or part-time CART member. This includes parties, representatives and witnesses.

What can you complain about?

Your complaint may address any CART member’s conduct, if you believe that conduct was in breach of the Code of Conduct.

This complaint process does not deal with the outcome of a member’s decision. If you think a member’s decision was wrong, you can apply for judicial review at the Federal Court of Appeal. This is what the law requires.

If you believe a member’s behavior has breached the Code of Conduct, and that breach also has influenced the member’s decision, you may submit a conduct complaint, as well as take steps to apply for a judicial review of your decision.

When can you make a complaint?

If you think that a member acted contrary to the Code of Conduct, you should make your complaint as soon as possible after the alleged incident.

Normally a complaint will not be dealt with until your proceeding at CART has been concluded and a decision has been provided by the member. This is to protect the fairness and impartiality of an ongoing proceeding. In rare cases, your complaint may be dealt with immediately and while the proceedings are ongoing.

Complaints can be made within 30 days of the alleged breach of the Code of Conduct.

What if I think a member is biased?

If you think a member is biased in how they are conducting your review (meaning the member is not behaving in a neutral manner towards you), and your file is still active, you should raise your concerns directly with the member at the first reasonable opportunity. This could be during your case management conference or at your hearing.

Where an allegation of bias is made during a proceeding, the presiding member will have to determine whether they agree with the concern. The member may decide to either remove themself from the file, or continue with the proceeding.

Can I make an anonymous complaint?

CART does not accept anonymous complaints. CART will share the details of your complaint, and your identity, with the member who is the subject of the complaint.

What happens after you make a complaint?

CART will deal with the complaint thoroughly, as quickly as possible, and in a way that is fair to both you and the member who is the subject of the complaint.

CART will send you a confirmation when your complaint is received and will update you on the status of your complaint. You may be asked to provide additional information about your complaint.

CART will attempt to complete a review of the complaint within 30 calendar days. If it is not possible to complete the review within this period, CART will let you know how much additional time it may need.

CART will give a copy of the complaint to the Chairperson and to the member who is the subject of the complaint.

After reviewing the complaint, the Chairperson may:

  1. dismiss the complaint right away, for the following reasons.
    • It is not related to the conduct of a member,
    • It appears to be frivolous, vexatious or made in bad faith, or
    • CART does not have enough information to proceed, and you have not responded to a request for additional information;
  2. refuse to deal with the complaint if it would be better dealt with through a different process (for example, by the Federal Court of Appeal);
  3. deal with the complaint through informal resolution (if the parties to the complaint consent to it); or
  4. investigate the complaint and determine whether there was a breach of the Code of Conduct.

What happens during an informal resolution?

If you and the member in question agree to it, a complaint may be resolved through informal resolution.

Informal resolution can include a meeting with the Chairperson and the complainant and the member to try to resolve the complaint. Whenever possible, the informal resolution process is preferred, as it is more efficient, more direct, and usually gives you more control over what the outcome could be.

If an attempt at informal resolution is not successful, the matter may proceed to a formal investigation.

If the complaint is resolved informally, a letter will be sent to you and the member stating that the complaint has been resolved.

What happens during an investigation?

During an investigation of a complaint, CART will give a copy of the complaint to the member who is the subject of the complaint. The member will have an opportunity to respond to the complaint. The Chairperson may interview / ask questions to others who might have seen the incident that is being complained about. The Chairperson may also review transcripts or recordings from the hearing.

After investigating the complaint, the Chairperson may:

  1. determine that the member did not breach the Code, and close the complaint; or
  2. determine that the member breached the Code.

In either case, the Chairperson will send you and the subject member a letter explaining their decision.

If the Chairperson decides that the Code of Conduct was breached, the Chairperson will also decide what actions to take to deal with the breach of the Code of Conduct, which may be shared with you. In deciding what action to take, the Chairperson may consider whether the member has ever breached the Code of Conduct before, the seriousness of the misconduct, or any other relevant factors and circumstances.

A complaint against the Chairperson

If your complaint is against the Chairperson, it will be directed to another CART member for review. CART will ensure that person is not in an actual or perceived conflict of interest to determine the matter.

Public reports

CART is accountable to Canadians. This includes explaining how we deal with complaints under the Code of Conduct. CART will publish on our website a summary of each complaint.

The summary will not contain information identifying you, the member, or any other individuals involved in the complaint.

How can you make a complaint?

Send your complaint to CART in writing by email to InfoTribunal@cart-crac.gc.ca. Your complaint must include the following information:

If you need a different way to make your complaint, or if you need other accommodations to participate in the complaint process, please let us know by emailing InfoTribunal@cart-crac.gc.ca or calling (613) 943-6405.

If you have any questions about complaint process, please contact the Registrar.

This procedure is approved by CART’s Chairperson on October 10, 2024.

Emily Crocco Signature

Emily Crocco
Chairperson
Canada Agricultural Review Tribunal