GP 14: Hearing Tribunal Charter
| Policy Number: |
GP 14 |
Approve Date: |
December 2025 |
| Review Frequency: |
Triennial |
*May be reviewed earlier as required |
1. Source Authority
The Act: Sections 13, 15, 16, 17, 78, 85, 119, Part 4.
The Regulations.
2. Establishment
The Hearing Tribunal is pursuant to section 15 and 16 of the Act.
2.1. Council appoints registrant members to the Complaint Review Committee & Hearing Tribunal Membership List, as per Bylaw 3, pursuant to section 15 of the Act.
2.2. The Hearings Director may establish a Hearing Tribunal pursuant to section 16 of the Act.
3. Composition
3.1. A Hearing Tribunal shall comprise a minimum of four (4) members.
3.1.1. A Hearing Tribunal shall include a minimum of 50% public representatives appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council under s.13(1)(b) of the Act.
3.1.2. The balance of the Hearing Tribunal shall be registrants who are appointed by Council to the Complaint Review Committee & Hearing Tribunal Membership List established pursuant to section 15 of the Act.
3.2. A Hearing Tribunal shall not include any person who has investigated, reviewed, or made a decision on the complaint in issue at the hearing, including as a member of a Complaint Review Committee.
3.3. Where the subject matter of a hearing relates to a complaint alleging sexual abuse or of sexual misconduct towards a patient by a registrant, the Hearings Director shall make every reasonable effort to ensure that at least one member of the Hearing Tribunal has the same gender identity as the patient.
3.3.1. The Hearings Director may select one member from the membership list established by the council of a different regulated profession under the Act, for the purposes of ensuring that at least one member of the Hearing Tribunal has the same gender identity as the patient.
3.4. Any member of a Hearing Tribunal may serve as Chair.
3.5. The Hearings Director shall designate a member of a Hearing Tribunal as Chair.
4. Eligibility
4.1. Registrants on the Complaint Review Committee & Hearing Tribunal Membership List must not currently be a member of Council or any other College regulatory committee.
4.2. Members shall meet the regulatory committee competencies as defined in GP 21 - Council and Committees Selection Policy.
4.3. Council is responsible for removal of registered members.
5. Term
5.1. The term of office of registrants on the Complaint Review Committee & Hearing Tribunal Membership List is three (3) years, staggered with approximately one-third of these members appointed each year.
5.2. All registrants on the Complaint Review Committee & Hearing Tribunal Membership List may serve one (1) additional term.
5.3. A member of a Hearing Tribunal whose term expires after a hearing has commenced but before the hearing is completed, continues to hold office after the expiry of the member’s term until the hearing is completed.
6. Quorum
6.1. All members of a Hearing Tribunal must be present during a hearing, subject to section 16(3) of the Act.
7. Meetings
7.1. All members of a Hearing Tribunal are voting members.
7.2. All decisions shall be by a majority vote.
7.3. If there is a tie vote, then the Chair shall cast a second and deciding vote.
7.4. Subject to the Act, the Regulations, the Bylaws and this Charter, a Hearing Tribunal may determine its own procedures.
7.5. Hearings before a Hearing Tribunal are held in public unless otherwise determined by the Hearing Tribunal in accordance with the Act.
7.6. Any party relying on artificial intelligence to assist with their submissions must disclose their use of artificial intelligence to the Hearings Director.
8. Duties and Powers
A Hearing Tribunal may:
8.1. conduct hearings under Part 4 of the Act; and
8.2. undertake any other power or duty given to it under the Act.
9. Confidentiality
9.1. Each member of a Hearing Tribunal shall keep information received by them as a member of the Hearing Tribunal confidential and shall not use or disclose such information except as necessary to carry out the Hearing Tribunal’s powers and duties under the Act.
9.2. Access to the record of a hearing and publication of a Hearing Tribunal’s decision shall be in accordance with the Act and the Bylaws.