The Social Security Tribunal today

Since I began as Chairperson of the Social Security Tribunal (Tribunal) in September of 2018, my focus has been to sustain – and accelerate – the Tribunal’s positive transformation. We are moving towards a more client-centric and accessible system of justice in Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security appeals.

In October of 2017, the firm of KPMG produced an independent report that analyzed how the Tribunal had been operating. It identified many areas where there was room to improve.

In response to the report, we have looked at every aspect of how we work. We are making changes. Our processes are becoming more efficient, simpler for appellants, and easier to understand.

For example:

• In most cases, appellants can now choose the form of hearing they prefer.
• Getting appeals started is now easier.
• Our website includes more useful tools, such as a list of organizations that can help appellants with their appeals.

Most importantly, we have improved our internal process so that appeals are scheduled more quickly and more decisions are released faster. The number of appeals waiting to be heard has gone down significantly. Our overall processing times have decreased as well.

Appeals waiting to be heard

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We have made a lot of progress, but there is still more to do.

As we continue to make improvements, please keep watching our website to learn how we are delivering on a vision of justice that is simple, quick and fair.