Date: 19980529
Docket: A-728-97
CORAM: MARCEAU J.A.
DESJARDINS J.A.
LÉTOURNEAU J.A.
| IN THE MATTER of an application for judicial review under paragraph 28(1)(m) of the Federal Court Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. F-7, as amended. |
| AND IN THE MATTER of a decision (CUB 38663) of the Umpire, Yvon Pinard, dated July 4, 1997 under the authority of the Unemployment Insurance Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. U-1, as amended. |
BETWEEN:
GILLES DUBOIS
Appellant
- and -
CANADA EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE
COMMISSION
- and -
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CANADA
Respondents
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
(Delivered from the bench at Québec, Quebec,
on Friday, May 29, 1998)
MARCEAU J.A.
[1] We are all of the view that this application for judicial review of a decision of an Umpire acting under the authority of the Unemployment Insurance Act cannot succeed in the end. The impugned decision was interlocutory in nature in that the claimant was denied the opportunity to submit evidence that the Board of Referees had not had before it. It is unnecessary to go into all the details of the situation in order to understand our reaction. Suffice it to say that the Umpire refused to admit the new evidence based on a strict application of the principles established by the courts holding that on appeal or judicial review, new evidence implies that either the party involved was unaware of the evidence or it was impossible to produce the evidence, at the time of the hearing at first instance. The Umpire also refused to accept the claimant"s submission that two decisions had been rendered since the hearing before the Board which clarified the situation and had made the claimant realize that evidence which he believed was useless was in fact relevant.
[2] We must express serious reservations about the application by an umpire of formal rules developed for the smooth functioning of the courts. The Umpire is one level in the process of the administration of the Unemployment Insurance Act, an eminently social piece of legislation, where claimants usually represent themselves and where the boards of referees sitting at first instance have no legal training. The principles of justice suggest that submissions by claimants should be accepted very liberally at all levels; in fact, this very liberal approach is required by section 86 of the Act.1
[3] That being said, the fact remains that the fundamental prerequisite for an Umpire accepting new evidence is that the evidence be material in that it is likely to have a major, if not decisive influence on the result of the case. It seems clear to us in the instant case that the evidence which the claimant wanted to produce, namely a qualified certificate from a private doctor, could have no influence on the result because a conclusive certificate from an authorized medical official would have been required for the claimant"s contention to be accepted. For this reason we believe that the Umpire"s refusal must be considered to be sound in the end.
[4] The application must accordingly be dismissed.
Louis Marceau
J.A.
Certified true translation
M. Iveson
Date: 19980529
Docket: A-728-97
CORAM: MARCEAU J.A.
DESJARDINS J.A.
LÉTOURNEAU J.A.
| IN THE MATTER of an application for judicial review under paragraph 28(1)(m) of the Federal Court Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. F-7, as amended. |
| AND IN THE MATTER of a decision (CUB 38663) of the Umpire, Yvon Pinard, dated July 4, 1997 under the authority of the Unemployment Insurance Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. U-1, as amended. |
BETWEEN:
GILLES DUBOIS
Appellant
- and -
CANADA EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE
COMMISSION
- and -
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CANADA
Respondents
Hearing held at Québec, Quebec, on Friday, May 29, 1998.
Judgment delivered from the bench on Friday, May 29, 1998.
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
DELIVERED BY: MARCEAU J.A.
FEDERAL COURT OF APPEAL
Date: 19980529
Docket: A-728-97
IN THE MATTER of an application for judicial review under paragraph 28(1)(m) of the Federal Court Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. F-7, as amended.
AND IN THE MATTER of a decision (CUB 38663) of the Umpire, Yvon Pinard, dated July 4, 1997 under the authority of the Unemployment Insurance Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. U-1, as amended.
BETWEEN:
GILLES DUBOIS
Appellant
- and -
CANADA EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE COMMISSION
- and -
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CANADA
Respondents
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
OF THE COURT
FEDERAL COURT OF APPEAL
NAMES OF COUNSEL AND SOLICITORS OF RECORD
COURT NO.: A-7288-97
STYLE OF CAUSE: Gilles Dubois v.
Canada Employment Insurance Commission and
Attorney General of Canada
PLACE OF HEARING: Québec, Quebec
DATE OF HEARING: May 29, 1998
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT OF MARCEAU J.A., DESJARDINS J.A., LÉTOURNEAU J.A.
DATED: May 29, 1998
APPEARANCES:
Sylvain Seney FOR THE APPELLANT
Claude Provencher FOR THE RESPONDENT
SOLICITORS OF RECORD:
Trudel, Nadeau, Lesage, Larivière et associés FOR THE APPELLANT
George Thomson
Deputy Attorney General of Canada FOR THE RESPONDENT
__________________
1 Which reads as follows:
86. The Commission, a board of referees or the umpire may in respect of any decision given in any particular claim for benefit rescind or amend the decision on the presentation of new facts or on being satisfied that the decision was given without knowledge of, or was based on a mistake as to, some material fact.