Definitions

1  In this Act:

"commission" means the commission continued under this Act;

"officer" includes a public officer or other person whose order is the subject of an appeal to the commission;

"order" includes an order, declaration, direction, ruling, decision, designation, refusal, suspension, cancellation or determination for which the commission has jurisdiction to hear an appeal;

"party to an appeal" includes the officer whose order is the subject of an appeal to the commission.

 Commission continued

2  The Commercial Appeals Commission is continued.

 Appointment of members

3  (1)  The Lieutenant Governor in Council

(a) may appoint to the commission for terms not exceeding 5 years as many members as the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers appropriate,

(b) may set, vary or terminate the remuneration and other benefits of a member, and

(c) must designate one member as the chair and one or more members as vice chair.

(2)  A member is a public officer.

(3)  A member must be reimbursed for reasonable expenses necessarily incurred by the member in performing the member's duties.

(4)  If the chair and all of the vice chairs are absent or incapable of acting, any member may act as chair.

 Panels

4  (1)  The chair may establish one or more panels of the commission.

(2)  A panel of the commission consists of 3 or more members appointed by the chair.

(3)  The chair may refer a matter that is before the commission to a panel or a matter that is before a panel to the commission or another panel.

(4)  In matters referred to a panel by the chair, a panel has the powers of the commission.

(5)  The chair may terminate an appointment to a panel and may fill a vacancy on a panel before the commencement of a hearing.

 Staff

5  Employees required to enable the commission to exercise its powers and perform its duties may be appointed under the Public Service Act.

 Proceedings privileged

6  An action must not be brought or continued against the commission, a member of it, or a person acting under its authority for anything done or omitted in good faith, in the performance or purported performance of a duty under this Act.

 Matters confidential

7  Except in an appeal or application to the commission, the commission, a member of it or a person employed or retained by it must not be compelled in a civil proceeding to give evidence or to produce a record respecting information obtained in the course of an appeal or application to the commission.

 Notice of appeal

8  (1)  If an Act provides for an appeal to the commission, the appeal must be commenced by a notice of appeal received by the commission within 30 days after the earliest of the following:

(a) mailing to the appellant, at the appellant's most recent address known to the officer, of a notice of the order to be appealed;

(b) personal service on the appellant of a notice of the order to be appealed;

(c) actual notice to the appellant of the order to be appealed.

(2)  A notice of appeal must identify the order to be appealed and must set out the grounds of appeal.

(3)  A copy of the notice of appeal must be served on a party to the appeal personally or by registered mail or as directed by the commission or a member.

(4)  At any stage of the appeal the commission or a member may direct that a person who may be affected by the appeal be added as a party to the appeal.

 Extension of time limit

9  (1)  On application, a member may extend the time for giving a notice of appeal to the commission or, if the time has expired, order a further time within which the notice of appeal may be given.

(2)  Subsection (1) applies despite a time limit set by an enactment for giving a notice of appeal to the commission.

 Record for appeal

10  (1)  An officer who is served with a copy of a notice of appeal from the officer's order must submit the record to the commission.

(2)  The record consists of the following:

(a) the record of oral evidence before the officer;

(b) copies or originals of documentary evidence before the officer;

(c) other things received as evidence by the officer;

(d) the order if it is in writing;

(e) the written reasons for the order if the officer gave written reasons.

 Order for written submissions

11  (1)  On application by a party, or on its own or a member's own initiative, the commission or a member may order the parties to deliver written submissions.

(2)  The commission may dismiss the appeal if a party fails to deliver a written submission ordered under subsection (1) within the time specified in the order.

(3)  The commission may decide the appeal without a further hearing if the commission is satisfied that the appeal can be disposed of on the written submissions delivered.

 Stay of order on appeal

12  (1)  If the commission receives a notice of appeal, the order being appealed is stayed.

(2)  On application, a member may order

(a) that the order being appealed is not stayed, or

(b) that the order being appealed is stayed for a period or subject to conditions or both.

 Interim orders

13  The commission or a member may make an interim order in an appeal.

 Open hearings

14  (1)  Hearings of the commission are open to the public.

(2)  If the commission considers that a public hearing would be unduly prejudicial to a party or a witness and that it would not be contrary to the public interest, it may order that the public be excluded for all or part of the hearing.

 Witnesses

15  (1)  The commission or a member has the same power

(a) to summon and enforce the attendance of witnesses,

(b) to compel witnesses to give evidence on oath or in any other manner, and

(c) to compel witnesses to produce records and things,

that the Supreme Court has for the trial of civil actions.

(2)  When the commission or a member exercises a power under subsection (1), a person who fails or refuses

(a) to attend,

(b) to take an oath,

(c) to answer questions, or

(d) to produce the records or things in the person's custody or possession,

is liable, on application to the Supreme Court, to be committed for contempt as if in breach of an order or judgment of the Supreme Court.

(3)  Section 34 (5) of the Evidence Act does not apply.

 Counsel

16  A party to a hearing may be represented by an agent or by a barrister and solicitor.

 Evidence

17  (1)  The commission may admit as evidence in an appeal, whether or not given or proven under oath or admissible as evidence in a court,

(a) any oral testimony, or

(b) any record or other thing

relevant to the subject matter of the appeal, and the commission may act on the evidence.

(2)  Nothing is admissible in evidence before the commission or a member that is inadmissible in a court because of a privilege under the law of evidence.

(3)  Subsection (1) does not override an Act expressly limiting the extent to which or purposes for which evidence may be admitted or used in any proceeding.

(4)  The commission may retain, call and hear an expert witness.

 Commission's decision

18  (1)  In an appeal the commission has the same powers of decision as the officer, and the commission may

(a) confirm, vary or reverse the order under appeal with or without conditions, or

(b) refer the matter back to the officer with or without directions.

(2)  The commission may dismiss the appeal if an appellant is notified of a hearing of the commission and fails to attend.

(3)  The commission need not give written reasons for its decision unless a party to the hearing requests them within 90 days from the expiry of the time limited for appeal to the Court of Appeal.

 Order for compliance

19  (1)  If it appears that a person has failed to comply with an order or decision of the commission or a member, the commission or a party may apply to the Supreme Court for an order

(a) directing the person to comply with the order or decision, and

(b) directing the directors and senior officers of the person to cause the person to comply with the order or decision.

(2)  On an application under subsection (1), the court may make the order requested or another order it thinks proper.

(3)  An application may be made under subsection (1) even though a penalty has already been imposed on that person for the noncompliance.

 Appeals

20  An order or decision of the commission may be appealed to the Court of Appeal with leave of a justice of the Court of Appeal.

 Power to make regulations

21  (1)  The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations referred to in section 41 of the Interpretation Act.

(2)  Without limiting subsection (1), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations as follows:

(a) setting fees and deposits for filing an appeal;

(b) respecting practice and procedure on appeals before the commission;

(c) respecting witness fees and the form of summonses to witnesses.