Madeleine Hebert

The appellant appealed a decision of the Social Benefits Tribunal denying him disability benefits under the Ontario Disability Support Program Act.

The appellant argued the Tribunal ignored evidence, applied the wrong legal test, and provided insufficient reasons.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, finding the Tribunal did not fundamentally misapprehend the evidence, correctly applied the test for a 'person with a disability' as set out in Crane, and provided adequate reasons to permit appellate review.

The Director of the Ontario Disability Support Program brought motions to dismiss three appeals to the Divisional Court due to a six-year delay in perfecting them.

The appellants argued the delay was due to awaiting outcomes of second claims, waiting for appellate decisions, a computer error by the Registrar, and clinic workload.

The court found it could not assess the potential prejudice to the Director without the medical records and Tribunal notes, which would be before the full panel.

The motions were adjourned to the panel hearing the appeals.