The complainant was a Canada Border Services Agency hearings officer who appeared before the member as Minister's counsel at an Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) hearing.
The complaint alleged that the member failed to treat the complainant and the hearing observer fairly and courteously, and failed to act in good faith and in a professional manner. More specifically, it was alleged that:
- It was unfair for the member to make the complainant's observer leave the hearing room, without explaining why their presence would be “distracting” and while allowing the appellant's counsel to have an observer present
- The member's conduct was meant to penalize the complainant for having spoken out earlier in the day about the timing of the morning break and about the member's hours of work
The Chairperson decided that the allegations were within scope of the Procedures for Making a Complaint About a Member (the Procedures) and referred the complaint to the Ombudsperson for investigation.
Both the complainant and the member confirmed an interest to discuss the matter. In accordance with the Procedures, the Ombudsperson arranged for a discussion between the parties to facilitate an informal resolution of the complaint.
Following a discussion facilitated by the Ombudsperson, the complaint was resolved to the satisfaction of both parties. The complainant indicated that they found it valuable to hear from the member why the member took the action that they did.
This complaint was considered informally resolved and the file was closed.