15. Deliberations of the Board of Referees and decision writing

Once the hearing ends, all parties leave the room and the Board of Referees takes the matter under consideration, deliberates and renders a decision based on the docket and the facts presented during the hearing.

Parties - New

• the name of all persons attending and their role in the hearing, e.g., claimant, witness, employer's representative, interpreter. This information is recorded in the header portion of the decision.

For purposes of consistency and uniformity, members and the chairperson are given a template for a Board of Referees' decision to assist them in writing the decision once their deliberations are completed. The template contains five sections:

Issues

• the issue under appeal as found in exhibit 1, the Presentation of the Appeal to the Board of Referees.

Information from the docket

• all the evidence put forward by the Commission and the claimant that is in the appeal docket.

Evidence at the hearing

• oral or written evidence provided at the hearing

Finding of facts, application of law

• how the evidence was analyzed, what evidence was found to be fact, which sections of the Employment Insurance Act, Employment Insurance Act Regulations Employment Insurance Regulations and jurisprudence apply and the conclusion, i.e., the Board finds that the claimant did or did not lose his or her employment by reason of his or her own misconduct.

Decision

• a statement in respect of the appeal - dismissed, allowed or allowed in part.

The Board's written decision must be clear, complete and written in plain language. Once the facts are established and summarized, all parties to the appeal are entitled to know:

1. the implications of these facts;
2. why some evidence was given more weight;
3. what the link was between the particular facts of the case and the legislation; and
4. what principles in the jurisprudence apply, and what Canadian Umpire Benefit (CUBs) decisions and Federal Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada decisions were relied on given the particular facts.

The Board of Referees, the Umpire and the Courts are bound by the law and cannot refuse to apply it, even in the name of equity and fairness.

Recording the reasoning process allows parties to understand why the Board decided as it did and determine whether they agree with the decision.

The chairperson and Board members sign their decision. If one of them dissents, a separate decision must be written and signed. The Board Assistant sends all parties the signed decision and the leaflet “How to appeal a Board of Referees' decision” to the Umpire.