Policy on Openness and Privacy

The Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), also referred to as the Board, is an independent, representational, quasi-judicial tribunal that interprets and applies the Canada Labour Code (the Code). The Board is also responsible for interpreting, applying, and administering Part II (Professional Relations) of the Status of the Artist Act.

The Board’s objectives are:

• to support constructive labour-management relations in the sectors regulated by Part I of the Code.
• to contribute to Canada’s cultural community by encouraging constructive professional relations between artists and producers in the federal jurisdiction.

This page explains the Board’s policy on the openness of its processes and describes how the Board handles issues relating to privacy.

The “open court principle” plays an important role in our justice system. It means that the Board conducts its hearings in public, except in exceptional circumstances. Given the Board’s mandate and the nature of its proceedings, the Board maintains an open court policy to foster transparency in its processes and ensure accountability and fairness in its proceedings.

Board hearings and case files are open to the public. Parties that make an appeal or complaint to the Board should be aware that they are participating in a public process. This includes the creation of a public record and the public dissemination of decisions. Parties and witnesses are subject to public review when giving evidence before the Board. In general, Board decisions identify parties and witnesses by name and may set out information about them that is relevant and necessary to resolving the dispute.

The Board acknowledges that in some instances mentioning a person’s personal information during a hearing or in a written decision may have a significant impact on that person’s life. Privacy concerns arise most frequently when identifying aspects of a person’s personal life become public. These include information about an individual’s home address, personal email address, personal phone number, date of birth, financial details, social insurance number (SIN), driver’s licence number, credit card or passport details as well as specific medical information. The Board tries to include such information in a written decision only where it is relevant and necessary for resolving the dispute.

The Board provides access to case files to the parties and to the public in a manner that balances the open court principle, the rights and interest of the public and participants to the proceedings, and the objectives of the Code.

The Board’s policy is consistent with the statement of the Heads of Federal Administrative Tribunals Forum (endorsed by the Council of Canadian Administrative Tribunals) and the principles found in the Protocol for the Use of Personal Information in Judgments approved by the Canadian Judicial Council.

The Board provides access to case files to the public in a manner that balances the open court principle, the rights and interest of the public and participants to the proceedings, and the objectives of the Code.

With appropriate notice, case files can be consulted by the public at one of the Board’s offices. However, information such as an individual’s home address, personal email address, personal phone number, date of birth, financial details, SIN, driver’s licence number, credit card, or passport details will be redacted prior to the consultation.

It should be noted that parties to a matter before the Board are entitled to use English or French in communications with the Board. Therefore, documents contained in case files may be in English or French. These documents can be accessed in the language in which they appear in the case file.

To ensure the proper administration of the Board’s adjudication process, evidence that is filed during an oral hearing will only be made available to the public once the decision on the merits of the case has been rendered or the Board has closed its case file.

In addition, documents and information that fall within the exceptions discussed above and information protected by solicitor-client privilege are excluded from the public record and are not available for consultation.

Board case files are disposed of in accordance with the retention and disposition schedule approved by the Librarian and Archivist of Canada.

Please contact us if you have any questions about this policy.