Dr. Richard Shillington

The Pay Equity Hearings Tribunal issued a procedural order scheduling the cross-examinations of three expert witnesses.

The respondent filed expert reports from Dr. Pat Armstrong and Dr. Richard Shillington, while the Pay Equity Office filed a report from Dr. Parbudyal Singh.

The Tribunal set specific dates in January 2025 for the cross-examinations to be conducted via video hearing and extended the deadline for reply submissions.

In an ongoing pay equity proceeding, the Tribunal previously directed parties to identify whether they wished to cross-examine expert witnesses and on what topics.

The applicant filed submissions identifying topics for cross-examination but did not disclose them to the other parties, arguing that revealing its cross-examination plan would be procedurally unfair and prejudicial.

The respondent requested disclosure of the applicant's submissions.

The Tribunal held that filing ex parte submissions violates procedural fairness and that identifying general topics for cross-examination does not prejudice the applicant.

The Tribunal directed the Registrar to provide copies of the applicant's submissions to the other parties.

In an ongoing pay equity maintenance proceeding, the Tribunal addressed procedural issues regarding proposed witnesses and evidence.

The Tribunal denied the applicant's request to introduce new fact evidence challenging the use of the proxy method, finding the issue was already decided and barred by issue estoppel.

The Tribunal also denied requests to call unidentified viva voce witnesses and to introduce evidence about other sectors, emphasizing the proceeding's focus on the applicant's specific fact situation.

The Tribunal permitted the respondent and the Pay Equity Office to file expert witness reports from three qualified experts.