Veterans Review and Appeal Board Regulations (SOR/96-67)

Short Title

1 These Regulations may be cited as the Veterans Review and Appeal Board Regulations.

Interpretation

2 In these Regulations,

Act

Act means the Veterans Review and Appeal Board Act; (Loi)

Board

Board means the Veterans Review and Appeal Board established by section 4 of the Act. (Tribunal)

Application for Review or Reconsideration and Appeals

3 In any proceeding under the Act, other than an application for a compassionate award under subsection 34(1) of the Act, the applicant or appellant shall inform the Board whether they intend to proceed

• (a) by written submission;

• (b) by appearing personally, with or without making a written submission; or

• (c) by having a representative appear, with or without making a written submission.

Reconsiderations

4 The review panel, appeal panel or Board, before convening a hearing to confirm, amend or rescind a decision, pursuant to subsection 23(1), 32(1) or 34(7) of the Act,

• (a) shall inform the applicant or appellant of the facts and allegations in its possession; and

• (b) shall provide the applicant or appellant with an opportunity to respond in writing.

Notice and Information

• 5 (1) When the Board receives an application for review, an application for reconsideration referred to in subsection 32(1) or 34(7) of the Act, a notice of appeal or an application for a compassionate award under subsection 34(1) of the Act, or initiates a reconsideration pursuant to subsection 23(1), 32(1) or 34(7) of the Act, the Board shall

  • (a) notify the Minister; and

  • (b) retrieve from the Department of Veterans Affairs’ records

    • (i) a copy of the decision, and

    • (ii) any relevant material, including

      • (A) all evidence submitted in the proceedings, and

      • (B) any recording or transcript of the proceedings.

• (2) The Board shall notify the applicant or appellant of

  • (a) its receipt of the material from the Department of Veterans Affairs’ records; and

  • (b) the date on which the review, reconsideration or appeal shall be heard.

Questions of Interpretation

• 6 (1) Where a question of interpretation is raised by an appellant pursuant to section 30 of the Act, or is referred to the Board pursuant to section 37 of the Act, the appellant or the person or organization shall submit to the Board

  • (a) a statement of the question; and

  • (b) the facts and arguments to be relied on at the hearing of the question.

• (2) Where it is of the opinion that the question is not trivial, frivolous or vexatious, the Board shall

  • (a) in the case of a question raised pursuant to section 30 of the Act, stay the appeal proceedings;

  • (b) notify the persons and organizations named in section 2 of the Prescribed Persons and Organizations Regulations, other than those who referred the question to the Board; and

  • (c) annex to the notice a copy of the question and arguments raised by the appellant or referred by the person or organization.

Decisions

7 Every decision of the Board shall

• (a) state the issue on review, reconsideration or appeal, or the question of interpretation;

• (b) state the reasons for the decision;

• (c) state the names of the members who took part in the decision;

• (d) include the signature of at least one of the members who took part in the decision;

• (e) in the case of a review panel decision, inform the applicant that the applicant has the right to appeal to the Board and that, in pursuing this right of appeal, the applicant may be represented, free of charge, by the Bureau of Pensions Advocates or a service bureau of a veterans’ organization or, at the applicant’s own expense, by any other representative;

• (f) in the case of an appeal panel decision, annex to the decision the reasons for dissent, if any, signed by the dissenting members of the appeal panel.

Notice of Decision

8 The Board shall send written notice of its decision

• (a) in the case of an application for review or an application for reconsideration pursuant to subsection 32(1) of the Act, to the applicant and to the Minister;

• (b) in the case of an appeal, to the appellant and to the Minister;

• (c) in the case of a question of interpretation raised by the appellant,

  • (i) to the persons referred to in paragraph (b), and

  • (ii) to the persons and organizations named in section 2 of the Prescribed Persons and Organizations Regulations;

• (d) in the case of a referral of a question of interpretation to the Board

  • (i) to the person or organization who referred the question to the Board, and to the Minister, and

  • (ii) to the persons and organizations named in section 2 of the Prescribed Persons and Organizations Regulations, other than the person or organization referred to in subparagraph (i);

• (e) in the case of an application for a compassionate award under subsection 34(1) of the Act or an application for reconsideration pursuant to subsection 34(7) of the Act, to the applicant and to the Minister; and

• (f) in the case of a reconsideration by the Board on its own motion pursuant to subsection 23(1), 32(1) or 34(7) of the Act, to the applicant or appellant and to the Minister.