The Environmental Appeal Board is pleased to announce the Rules and Procedures associated with Expedited Hearings.
These rules and procedures offer faster and more efficient pre-hearing and hearing processes for qualifying appeals. This process will be available to certain appeals that will not require time-consuming preliminary applications, large amounts of evidence, or extensive legal argument to decide. To begin, the expedited hearing process is only available for appeals of quota decisions made under section 60 of the Wildlife Act but may, in time, become available for other appeals as well.
The expedited appeal process also recognizes the need for Indigenous communities to be allowed to meaningfully participate in appeals which may affect their rights or particular interests. This ruleset allows the Board to take proactive steps to ensure that these communities have that opportunity.
The expedited hearing process offers a new, streamlined process, which the Board will be evaluating and refining. It may be expanded to other areas of appeal in time. This represents a significant step in the Board’s efforts to streamline its processes and deliver more timely decisions while effectively managing its resources.
Darrell Le Houillier
Chair