RCMP External Review Committee Rules of Practice and Procedure (SOR/88-313)

Short Title

1 These Rules may be cited as the RCMP External Review Committee Rules of Practice and Procedure.

Interpretation

2 In these Rules,

Act

Act means the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act; (Loi)

Committee member

Committee member means a person appointed as a member of the Committee pursuant to subsection 25(1) of the Act; (membre du Comité)

Executive Director

Executive Director[Revoked, SOR/91-544, s. 1]

interested person

interested person means a person who satisfies the Committee that the person has a substantial and direct interest in a matter being heard by the Committee; (personne intéressée)

record

record means the whole or any part of any book, document, paper, card, tape or other thing in or on which information is written, recorded, stored or reproduced. (pièce)

registered mail

registered mail means trace mail that provides proof of the date of mailing, of signature on delivery and a means of establishing delivery status; (courrier recommandé)

Registrar

Registrar means the person appointed pursuant to subsection 27(2) of the Act and designated as Registrar by the Committee Chairman. (greffier)

Matters Not Otherwise Provided for in These Rules

3 Where any matter arises during the course of proceedings before the Committee not otherwise provided for in these Rules, the Committee may take whatever steps it considers necessary to settle the matter.

Holidays

4 Where a time limit or deadline set out under these Rules falls on a Saturday or statutory holiday, the time limit or deadline shall be extended to the next working day.

Interested Person

• 5 (1) Except where the Committee considers an application to appear on the day of hearing, a person seeking to appear before the Committee shall, not later than five working days before the date of the hearing of that matter, file with the Committee an application in writing setting out the nature of the person’s interest in the matter before the Committee.

• (2) The Registrar shall send a copy of the application referred to in subsection (1) to the parties to the matter being heard by the Committee.

Meetings by Telephone or other Means of Telecommunication

6 Committee members may participate in meetings by telephone or other means of telecommunication.

Providing of Records

• 7 (1) When referring a matter to the Committee, the Commissioner or the Commissioner’s delegate shall send to the Committee Chairman, as the case may be,

  • (a) a bound copy of the record required to be furnished under subsection 33(3) of the Act, including the style of the cause and an index; or

  • (b) three bound copies of the record referred to in subsection 45.15(4) or 45.25(3) of the Act, including in each case the style of the cause and an index.

• (2) The Commissioner or the Commissioner’s delegate shall certify by affidavit that the record required to be provided to the Committee Chairman by the Commissioner in respect of a matter referred to the Committee has been so provided.

• (3) In the case of a matter referred under section 33 of the Act, the Commissioner or the Commissioner’s delegate shall certify by affidavit that the appropriate officer and the member presenting the grievance have each been provided with a copy of the record sent to the Committee pursuant to subsection (1)(a).

Written Submissions

• 8 (1) In the course of reviewing a matter referred to the Committee by the Commissioner, the Committee Chairman may permit the parties and interested persons to file written submissions for the purpose of clarifying the matter.

• (2) On receiving the submission from a party or interested person, the Committee Chairman shall provide a copy of it to all other parties and interested persons.

• (3) Any of the parties or interested persons may, within 14 days after receiving the submission or within such longer period as is allowed by the Committee where justified in the circumstances, file a written response to it with the Committee.

Conflict of Interest

• 9 (1) A Committee member shall immediately notify the Committee Chairman where the Committee member,

  • (a) apart from any functions as a Committee member, has had previous, or has any current, personal or professional association with a member whose grievance, formal disciplinary appeal or discharge or demotion appeal is before the Committee; or

  • (b) is an employee, associate, counsel or member of a legal firm that is representing the member referred to in paragraph (a).

• (2) Where the Committee Chairman determines that the Committee member has a real or potential conflict of interest, the Committee Chairman shall request the Committee member to withdraw from any further participation in the matter before the Committee.

Filing of Records

• 10 (1) Any record required by these Rules to be filed with the Committee shall be addressed to the Registrar and be either sent by registered mail or delivered by hand to the office of the Registrar.

• (2) Where a record is sent by registered mail, the effective date of filing is the date of mailing.

Production of Records

• 11 (1) Where the Committee Chairman decides to institute a hearing to inquire into a matter, any party to that matter may, at any time before the hearing, request in writing that another party to that matter produce for inspection a record and copies of that record.

• (2) The person to whom a request is made in accordance with subsection (1) shall produce the record requested within a reasonable time from the date on which the request is received.

• (3) Where a party fails to produce a record in accordance with subsection (2), the party may not present the record in evidence at the hearing, unless the party satisfies the Committee that the party has sufficient cause for failing to produce the record.

Conference or Preliminary Procedures

12 The Committee may, verbally or in writing, direct the parties to appear before the Committee at a specified time and place, or to file submissions in writing to the Committee, for the purpose of formulating issues and assisting the Committee in the consideration of

• (a) the simplification of issues;

• (b) the necessity or desirability of amending any submission for the purpose of clarification, amplification or limitation;

• (c) the admissibility of certain facts or the proof of them by affidavit, or the use by any party of reports or other matters of public record;

• (d) the procedure at the hearing;

• (e) the exchange among the parties of records and exhibits proposed to be submitted at the hearing; and

• (f) any other matters that may assist in the simplification of the evidence and conduct of the proceedings.

Official Languages

13 At a hearing before the Committee, a party or an interested person is entitled to make representations to the Committee, to present evidence and to examine and cross-examine witnesses in either official language.

Arguments

14 The Committee may direct a party or an interested person to file a written argument in addition to any verbal argument.

Stay of Proceedings

15 Where a party or an interested person has not complied with any requirement of these Rules, the Committee may stay the proceedings until it is satisfied that the requirement has been complied with or take such other measures as it considers just and reasonable in the circumstances.

Postponements

• 16 (1) Where a notice of hearing has been issued, any party may, with the consent of all of the other parties to the hearing and after notifying all interested persons, file with the Committee a written request for a postponement of the hearing.

• (2) Where a party does not consent to a postponement, the party seeking the postponement may, after sending a written notice to all of the other parties and interested persons, appear before the Committee at a time and place set for the hearing and request that the hearing be postponed.

Adjournments

17 The Committee may adjourn a hearing at any time in order to permit a party to the hearing, or an interested person, to obtain such additional information as the Committee deems necessary to a full investigation and full consideration of the matter.

Sittings

18 A hearing, once commenced, shall proceed from day to day so far as, in the opinion of the Committee, may be practicable, and, if necessary, may proceed in the evenings and on Saturdays at the discretion of the Committee.

Summons

• 19 (1) [Repealed, SOR/97-437, s. 3]

• (2) A summons may be issued on written request by a party or an interested person.

• (3) Unless the Committee directs otherwise, no summons to a person may be issued for the production of an original record if the record, by virtue of a statutory provision or a provision made pursuant to statute, may be proved by a copy in a prescribed manner.

• (4) A summons to any person shall be served on the person to whom it is issued in accordance with section 47.2 of the Act.

• (5) [Revoked, SOR/91-544, s. 9]

Submissions of Claims

20 Claims under subsections 35(12) and 46(3) of the Act must be submitted to the Registrar for consideration by the Committee.

21 [Revoked, SOR/91-544, s. 10]