Appeal Policy

  1. Any person who is a member of WRC will have the right to appeal a decision of the WRC Board of Directors, of any WRC Committee, or of any group or individual who has been delegated authority to make decisions on behalf of WRC, subject to any limits in this Policy.
  2. This Policy will apply to all decisions except decisions made by organizations external to WRC; decisions relating to operational structure, staffing or employment; decisions about allocation of volunteer appointments; decisions on budgets or budget implementation; and decisions of a commercial nature.
  3. Annually, WRC will appoint an Administrator to oversee this Policy. The Administrator has an overall responsibility to ensure procedural fairness and timeliness are respected at all times in the appeals process and more particularly, has a responsibility to:
    1. Receive appeals;
    2. Determine if appeals lie within the jurisdiction of this Policy;
    3. Determine if appeals are brought on permissible grounds;
    4. Appoint the Tribunal to hear appeals;
    5. Determine the format of the appeal Hearing;
    6. Coordinate all administrative and procedural aspects of the appeal;
    7. Provide administrative assistance and logistical support to the Tribunal as required; and
    8. Provide any other service or support that may be necessary to ensure a fair and timely appeal proceeding.
  4. Persons who wish to appeal a decision must submit a written Notice of Appeal to the administrator indicating their intention to appeal, their contact coordinates, the reasons for the appeal, the grounds for the appeal, a summary of evidence to support the appeal, and the remedy requested. This Notice of Appeal must be submitted within 7 days of the person learning of the decision that is being appealed.
  5. Decisions may only be appealed on procedural grounds, which are limited to the Respondent:
    1. Making a decision for which it did not have authority or jurisdiction as set out in governing documents;
    2. Failing to follow procedures laid out in the bylaws or approved policies of WRC;
    3. Making a decision that was influenced by bias;
    4. Failing to consider relevant information or taking into account irrelevant information in making the decision;
    5. Making a decision that was grossly unreasonable.
  6. The Administrator will review the Notice of Appeal and will decide if the appeal falls within the jurisdiction of this Policy, and if it satisfies procedural grounds. If the Administrator is satisfied that the appeal is not under this Policy’s jurisdiction, or that there are not sufficient grounds, the parties will be notified in writing, stating reasons. There is no further appeal of the Administrator’s decision on jurisdiction or grounds.
  7. If the Administrator is satisfied that there are sufficient grounds for an appeal, then a Hearing before a Tribunal will take place. The Administrator will appoint the Tribunal, which will consist of a single Adjudicator, to hear the appeal. In extraordinary circumstances, and at the discretion of the Administrator, a Tribunal of three persons may be appointed to hear and decide a case. In this event, the Administrator will appoint one of the Tribunal’s members to serve as the Chair.
  8. The Administrator will determine the timing and format of the Hearing, which may involve an oral Hearing in person, an oral Hearing by telephone, a Hearing based on written submissions or a combination of these methods. The Hearing will be governed by the procedures that the Administrator and the Tribunal deem appropriate in the circumstances, provided that:
    1. The parties will be given appropriate notice of the day, time and place of the hearing.
    2. Copies of any written documents which the parties wish to have the Tribunal consider will be provided to all parties in advance of the Hearing.
    3. The parties may be accompanied by a representative, advisor or legal counsel at their own expense.
    4. If a decision in the appeal may affect another party to the extent that the other party would have recourse to an appeal in their own right under this Policy, that party will become a party to the appeal in question and will be bound by its outcome.
    5. A quorum will be all three Adjudicators (if a panel of 3 has been selected) and decisions will be by majority vote.
  9. After the Hearing, the Tribunal will issue a written decision with reasons. The Tribunal may decide:
    1. a)To reject the appeal and confirm the decision being appealed; or
    2. To uphold the appeal, identify the error and refer the matter back to the original decision-maker; or
    3. To uphold the appeal and vary the decision but only where the Tribunal has determined that the errors cannot be corrected by the Respondent due to lack of clear procedures, lack of time, or lack of neutrality.
  10. The Administrator will provide a copy of the Tribunal’s decision to the parties and to the President of the WRC. Unless the Tribunal decides otherwise, the decision will not be considered a matter of public record. Where time is of the essence, the Tribunal may issue a verbal decision or a summary written decision, with reasons to follow.
  11. The appeal process is confidential involving only the parties, the Administrator and the Tribunal. Once initiated and until a written decision is released, the parties will not disclose confidential information relating to the appeal to any person not involved in the proceedings.
  12. The decision of the Tribunal will be final and binding upon the parties and upon all members of WRC, subject to a review of the matter by the Manitoba Rowing Association (MRA). Any decision to review a matter heard and decided under this Policy is at the sole discretion of MRA, using its own policies and procedures.