CHAPTER 1
ADMINISTRATIVE JUSTICE AND TRIBUNAL PROCEEDINGS
1.2 Characteristics of Tribunal Proceedings in Employment Insurance Cases
1.2.3 Social and Economic Objective of the Act
The Board of Referees is an administrative tribunal involved in the application of important legislation of a socio-economic nature. It acts to decide disputes between the Commission, which is a government agency, and claimants under the employment insurance scheme or employers. The Employment Insurance Act is not an insurance statute like others; it provides protection against a social risk that is not like the events or accidents normally covered by various insurance policies; furthermore it contemplates social benefits that go beyond the strict limits of unemployment. A long line of authority has confirmed the purpose of this legislation.279
The philosophy that seems to provide a basis for the members of this administrative tribunal may result implicitly from s. A. 49, which provides that the Commission shall give claimants the benefit of the doubt in determining whether there are circumstances or conditions that have the effect of making the claimant ineligible for benefit if the evidence adduced on both sides is equivalent.280 The Court of Appeal has stated that between two acceptable interpretations, that which is more favourable to the claimant must be accepted.281 In many situations, such as dismissal for misconduct, benefit of the doubt is given to the claimant.282
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