Employment Insurance (EI)

Decision

[1] The Tribunal grants leave to appeal to the Appeal Division of the Social Security Tribunal.

Introduction

[2] On March 20, 2015, the Tribunal’s General Division found that:

• - The Applicant had voluntarily left his employment without just cause within the meaning of sections 29 and 30 of the Employment Insurance Act (“the Act”).

[3] The Applicant filed an application for leave to appeal to the Appeal Division on April 14, 2015.

Issue

[4] The Tribunal must determine whether the appeal has a reasonable chance of success.

The law

[5] As stated in subsections 56(1) and 58(3) of the Department of Employment and Social Development Act, “[a]n appeal to the Appeal Division may only be brought if leave to appeal is granted” and the Appeal Division “must either grant or refuse leave to appeal”.

[6] Subsection 58(2) of the Department of Employment and Social Development Act provides that “[l]eave to appeal is refused if the Appeal Division is satisfied that the appeal has no reasonable chance of success”.

Analysis

[7] Under subsection 58(1) of the Department of Employment and Social Development Act, the only grounds of appeal are that:

1. (a) the General Division failed to observe a principle of natural justice or otherwise acted beyond or refused to exercise its jurisdiction;
2. (b) the General Division erred in law in making its decision or order, whether or not the error appears on the face of the record; or
3. (c) the General Division based its decision or order on an erroneous finding of fact that it made in a perverse or capricious manner or without regard for the material before it.

[8] An application for leave to appeal is a preliminary step to a hearing on the merits. It is a first, and lower, hurdle for the Applicant to meet than the one that must be met on the hearing of the appeal on the merits. At the application for leave to appeal stage, the Applicant does not have to prove his case.

[9] The Tribunal will grant leave to appeal if it is satisfied that any of the above grounds of appeal has a reasonable chance of success.

[10] To do so, the Tribunal must, in accordance with subsection 58(1) of the Department of Employment and Social Development Act, be able to see a question of law, fact or jurisdiction the answer to which may lead to the setting aside of the decision attacked.

[11] In light of the foregoing, does the Applicant’s appeal have a reasonable chance of success?

[12] In his application for leave to appeal, the Applicant submits that the General Division erred in finding that he had left voluntarily when in fact he was dismissed by his employer. The General Division allegedly also erred in rejecting his testimony with no explanation and preferring the hearsay evidence given by a third party.

[13] Finally, he argues that the Member exhibited bias by ignoring the uncontradicted evidence before him. He relies on the rules of natural justice.

[14] After reviewing the appeal file, the General Division’s decision and the arguments in support of the application for leave to appeal, the Tribunal finds that the appeal has a reasonable chance of success. The Applicant has raised several questions of fact, law and natural justice the answers to which may lead to the setting aside of the decision challenged.

Conclusion

[15] Leave to appeal is granted.