Course Outline

Administrative Tribunals are independent agencies responsible for making decisions and managing disputes. They adjudicate decisions about income support, housing, claims of discrimination and capacity. They include the Landlord and Tenant, the Social Benefits Tribunal and the Immigration and Refugee Board.

This two-part course is designed for non-profit sector professionals who work with clients involved in the administrative tribunal system in Canada.

Disclaimer: Participants who complete both courses will be provided with a certificate.

Session 1: An Introduction to the Tribunal System

This two-hour foundational course will provide students with an overview of the administrative tribunal system, including the mandates of various tribunals and the roles of key participants such as witnesses, advocates, and support persons.

Session 2: The Ethics of Advocacy within the Tribunal System

In this two and a half hour interactive and skills-based workshop, participants will be encouraged to think critically about the role of an advocate within the Canadian administrative tribunal system. Through case studies, participants will strengthen their oral and written advocacy skills and receive practical tips on how to effectively support clients who are represented by a lawyer as well as those who are self-represented.

Trainer Bio

Lana Frado has several decades of experience advocating for individuals with disabilities. In particular, she is passionate about the right to accessible education and employment for individuals with social disabilities, as well as fairness and equitable access in the justice system. She is the former Executive Director of Sound Times Support Services, an organization staffed, governed and driven by people with lived experience. In addition to her long career in non-profit management at Sound Times, she has been employed in project-based work with the National Office of the Canadian Mental Health Association, the Consumer/Survivor Development Initiative, the Ontario Ministry of Health and the former Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation. She has held numerous leadership positions, including Ministerial appointments, in governance, system design and delivery strategies. She is a psychiatric survivor.

Amy Slotek is a Staff Lawyer with Legal Aid Ontario who practices criminal and administrative law. For the past nine years, she has coordinated an initiative focused on meeting the interconnected legal needs of homeless accused who manage complex mental health disabilities in the downtown Toronto area.

Ms. Slotek has over twenty years of experience working in the non-profit sector, both in Canada and internationally. In these roles, she has developed and facilitated training to law enforcement, lawyers and non-profit professionals on human rights and anti-discrimination law, trauma informed practice and disability rights.