Principles of Member Conduct

Members of the Board are committed to the following principles:

1. A Member will approach every hearing with an open mind with respect to every issue.
2. A Member will listen carefully to the submissions of the parties and their representatives.
3. A Member will at all times show respect for the parties and their representatives and witnesses, and for the hearing process itself, through his or her demeanour, timeliness, dress, and conduct.
4. A Member will demonstrate a high degree of sensitivity to issues of gender, ability, race, language, culture and religion which may affect the conduct of a hearing and assessment of credibility.
5. A Member will endeavour to conduct all hearings expeditiously, commencing at the appointed time and preventing unnecessary delay, while ensuring that all parties have a fair opportunity to present their evidence and argument.
6. A Member will conduct a hearing in a firm but courteous manner and should likewise require courteous behaviour from hearing participants.  The Member will promote mutual respect among hearing participants, and will not allow unprofessional, sexist, racist, ethnocentric or inappropriate religious comment or contemptuous conduct.
7. A Member will permit parties and agents to present their evidence and arguments without undue interruption from other participants or the Member him / herself.
8. A Member will attempt to ensure that parties who are unrepresented are not unduly disadvantaged at the hearing, although he or she cannot advise or take the side of an unrepresented party.
9. A Member will not communicate directly or indirectly with any party, witness or representative in respect of a proceedings outside of a hearing or pre-hearing conference, except in the presence of all parties and their representatives.  He or she will behave in a manner that ensures parties view the Member as impartial towards all participants and representatives.
10. A Member will decide each case in good faith to the best of his or her ability.  The prospect of disapproval from any person, institution, media representative or community will not deter the Member from making the decision which he or she believes is correct based on the law and the evidence.
11. A Member accepts responsibility for the accuracy and correctness of his or her Orders and Reasons.
12. A Member is responsible for ensuring that all decisions are rendered promptly.  Written reasons for decisions will be prepared without undue delay.
13. A Member will consider any Interpretation Guidelines and relevant Board decisions on a question at issue before him or her, although neither are binding.  A Member is not required by law to follow a Guideline or its reasoning, but must be prepared to explain clearly in the reasons why he or she does not find a Guideline or previous decision relevant or why he or she has adopted different reasoning.  The Member will give due weight to the need for a degree of consistency in the interpretation of the law.

If a person believes a Member has not complied with any of these principles, they may make a complaint to the Board.  The procedures for making a complaint are found in the Complaints about a Member’s Conduct section.