Appeal Rules

1. Fundamental Rules

Division 1
Purpose, Application, and Jurisdiction

What is the purpose of the rules?

1.1(1) The purpose of these rules is to establish a timely, fair and independent process for appeals to the Appeals Commission.

(2) These rules govern

1. appeals to the Appeals Commission, and
    
2. the practice and procedure applicable to proceedings before the Appeals Commission.

1. the Workers’ Compensation Regulation, AR 325/2002,

 

2. the Firefighters’ Primary Site Cancer Regulation, AR 102/2003, and

 

3. the Medical Panels Regulation, AR 290/2006.

1. appeals from decisions of a review body about compensation payable under the Act;
    
2. appeals from decisions of a review body about an assessment under the Act, including an administrative penalty;
    
3. appeals from a determination of the Board about whether a worker is entitled to compensation under the Act and the regulations;
    
4. any other matter assigned to the Appeals Commission under an Act or by regulation under section 13.1(1)(d) of the Act.

1. section 13.2(11) of the Act authorizes the Appeals Commission, at any stage in proceedings before it, to ask the Court of Queen’s Bench for an opinion on a question of law or jurisdiction;
    
2. (b) section 13.4 of the Act permits the Board and any person who has a direct interest in a decision of the Appeals Commission made under section 13.2 of the Act, to appeal the Appeals Commission’s decision to the Court of Queen’s Bench on a question of law or jurisdiction.

 Information notes and summary overviews

1.4 The highlighted Information notes, and the boxed summary overview on the title page of each Part, are inserted only as a reader’s aid, do not form part of these rules or the text to be interpreted, and have no legal effect.
 

Waiver of and non-compliance with the rules

1.5(1) The Appeals Commission may, in a particular case, do either or both of the following:

1. waive or vary a time period specified in these rules, whether or not the time has passed or expired;
    
2. waive or vary a rule.

1. take into account the particular circumstances of the case and what would be fair and just, and
    
2. satisfy itself that the particular circumstances justify a waiver or variance of the time period or rule, or both.

Conflict between the rules and Acts and regulations

1.6 If any of these rules conflict or are inconsistent with an Act or regulation, the Act or regulation prevails to the extent of the conflict or inconsistency.
 

Division 2
Representatives

1. be in writing, be dated, and be signed by the party appointing the representative,
    
2. appoint and authorize the representative to act on behalf of the party, and
    
3. include the representative’s postal address and telephone number, and their fax and cell phone numbers, if any.

Division 3
Appeals Commission and
Communication with the Commission

1. a chief appeals commissioner, who is the chair;
    
2. one or more appeals commissioners whom the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers to be representative of the interests of employers;
    
3. one or more appeals commissioners whom the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers to be representative of the interests of workers;
    
4. temporary appeals commissioners appointed in accordance with section 10(3) of the Act.

 Appeals Commission panels

1.11 Under section 13.1(2) of the Act, the chief appeals commissioner may authorize a panel of 2 or more appeals commissioners to act on behalf of the Appeals Commission and that panel may exercise the powers of the Appeals Commission for that purpose.

General authority of the Appeals Commission

1.12(1) In exercising its jurisdiction under the Act, the Appeals Commission may, with respect to a particular appeal, do all or any of the following:

issue general or specific practice or procedural directions about the appeal at any time, with or without terms and conditions;
 
2. direct that an action be taken by any party within a specified time;
    
3. correct an obvious slip, typographical error, error of calculation, misstatement or technical error or omission by a party in any proceeding or document filed with or provided to the Appeals Commission, without first giving notice to the party.
    

1. deciding an application for party status or an objection to party status (see rule 2.13 [Parties to an appeal] and rule 2.14 [Application to become a party to an appeal]);
    
2. deciding an issue relating to the jurisdiction of the Appeals Commission about an appeal or any aspect of it (see rule 1.3 [What can be appealed to the Appeals Commission]);
    
3. deciding any preliminary question of constitutional law raised by a party that may arise from the federal or provincial distribution of powers under the Constitution of Canada (see 3.4 [Notice of constitutional question]);
    
4. deciding an issue relating to the readiness of one or more parties for a hearing (for the certificate of readiness, see rule 3.1 [Certificate of readiness and request for hearing] and see rule 3.12 [Application to re-schedule a hearing]);
    
5. deciding an issue relating to the scheduling of a hearing (see rule 3.6 [Scheduling the appeal hearing]);
    
6. deciding an issue relating to an application to question a witness residing in or outside Alberta and to obtain answers to questions in writing for later use in the hearing (see rule 3.9 [Application to obtain evidence from a witness]);
    
7. deciding whether to issue or refuse a notice to attend or a notice to produce documents under rule 3.10 [Notice to attend or notice to produce documents] or rule 3.11 [Refusal to issue a notice to attend or notice to produce];
    
8. deciding whether to dismiss an appeal for delay under rule 3.13 [Dismissal of appeal for delay];
    
9. deciding whether to record oral or electronic hearings (see rule 3.2(c) [Request for hearing form] and rule 4.3 [Recording the hearing and transcripts]);
    
10. directing that two or more matters be heard together at one hearing or directing that 2 or more matters be heard in separate hearings;
     
11. adjourning a scheduled hearing date to a new date, time and place or until an event occurs or a condition is complied with, or cancel a hearing;
     
12. when an oral hearing is not necessary, directing that a documents-only hearing be conducted (see rule 1.14 [Type of hearing]);
     
13. requiring written submissions to be filed and set dates by which the submissions and any replies must be received (see rule 4.13(2) [Argument and written submissions]);
     
14. imposing terms and conditions and time limits on any order or direction;
     
15. directing a time, before the hearing, by which a party must

 
1. identify their witnesses, including medical and technical witnesses;
    
2. describe the qualifications and provide a summary of the evidence of a medical, technical or other witness (see rule 3.8 [Expert and other witnesses]);
    
16. ruling on the admissibility and relevance of evidence;
     
17. referring a matter back to the review body or Board that made the decision appealed.

Practice guidelines

1.13(1) The chief commissioner may make practice guidelines to help parties and prospective parties with an appeal, or any aspect of it, and to help explain the Act, regulations and these rules.

(2) If the practice guidelines conflict or are inconsistent with these rules or an Act or regulation, the rules, Act or regulation prevails to the extent of the inconsistency.

Type of hearing

1.14 The Appeals Commission may conduct a hearing by any one or more or any combination of the following:

1. an oral hearing of one or more of the parties in person of which notice of the hearing has been given to every party;
    
2. a telephone conference call or some other form of electronic technology allowing persons at a hearing to hear one another and to speak to one another;
    
3. a documents-only process.

1. the filing of documents or applications related to an appeal;
   
   
2. to submissions made in the course of a hearing conducted by the Appeals
Commission.

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