The complainant was counsel for a refugee claimant whose case was heard by a member of the Refugee Protection Division.
The complainant alleged that the member's comments during a pre-hearing conference were offensive, including the alleged insinuation that the complainant and his client had concocted a plan to delay the refugee hearing.
The member's decision to hold a pre-hearing conference to allow the complainant to respond to questions about multiple delays was part of the member's adjudicative discretion, and therefore, was not within the scope of the Procedures for Making a Complaint about a Member (the Procedures).
After reviewing the complaint, and consistent with the recommendation of the Ombudsperson, the Chairperson dismissed the complaint under the Procedures because the allegation was not within scope.
The complaint was dismissed and the file was closed.