Case No. 21-015

​​​The complainant was an immigration consultant who represented refugee claimants at a Refugee Protection Division hearing.

The complaint contained two allegations, as follows:

• Under the Instructions Governing the Streaming of Less Complex Claims at the IRB​, hearing of claims can usually be concluded within two hours. The hearing in this case took almost four hours, contrary to the Instructions
  
• The member did not give counsel the opportunity to question the claimants​
  

The Ombudsperson’s Office listened to the audio recording of the hearing and confirmed that the audio did not reveal any comments or behaviour on the part of the member which could form the basis of a conduct complaint. The member displayed a courteous and respectful manner throughout the hearing.

Consistent with the recommendation of the Office of the Ombudsperson, the Chairperson decided that this complaint relates to the exercise of adjudicative discretion and not to the member’s conduct. As per section 3 of the Procedures for Making a Complaint about a Member, complaints related to the exercise of the member’s adjudicative discretion are not investigated. Members are independent decision-makers; therefore, their adjudicative independence must be unfettered. The appropriate forum for concerns about adjudicative discretion is the associated appeals division or the Federal Court.

The complaint was dismissed, and the file was closed.