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Decision
[1] On October 1, 2015, a member of the General Division determined that the Applicant’s request for an extension of time to file his appeal should be refused. In due course, the Applicant filed an application for leave to appeal to the Appeal Division.
[2] Subsection 58(1) of the Department of Employment and Social Development Act (the Act) states that the only grounds of appeal are that:
- (a) ) the General Division failed to observe a principle of natural justice or otherwise acted beyond or refused to exercise its jurisdiction;
- (b) the General Division erred in law in making its decision, whether or not the error appears on the face of the record; or
- (c) ) the General Division based its decision on an erroneous finding of fact that it made in a perverse or capricious manner or without regard for the material before it.
[3] The Act also states that leave to appeal is to be refused if the appeal has “no reasonable chance of success”.
[4] In his application the Applicant repeats a number of the arguments he made to the General Division, but also claims that he appealed late because he received his General Division decision late.
[5] I note that in his appeal to the General Division, the Applicant stated that he received his reconsideration decision in July 2015 and that his appeal was initially filed on July 23, 2015.
[6] Although I make no findings on the matter, I note that on the face of the record the General Division member may have misapprehended the date that the Applicant’s appeal should have been considered complete as well as the date that the reconsideration decision was communicated to him. Indeed, the Applicant’s appeal may not actually have been filed late. If shown to be true, this would result in a successful appeal.
[7] I therefore find that these pleadings have a reasonable chance of success. Accordingly, this application for leave to appeal must be granted.