Legislation was introduced today that will centralize and coordinate the provision of support services to some administrative tribunals through a new, single organization called the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada (ATSSC). Of particular interest to USGE is the inclusion of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to the list of tribunals. The ATSSC will fall under the Justice portfolio and the tribunals will remain in their current ministerial portfolios. There is no impact on the independence of the tribunals. All staff, including cousel, will report to the new organization.
According to some information, one of the key objectives behind the creation of ATSSC is to improve access to justice for Canadians. It is expected that this new organization will pool resources from smaller entities which will strengthen the overall capacity to support tribunals’ needs and help modernize operations.
There is very limited information available, but at this time, USGE does not believe that there will be any major impact on our members. We are, however, monitoring the situation and will continue to inform our members as we receive news.