Bill C-6

PART 3

TRIBUNAL

Composition and Role

(a) to strike panels to conduct hearings and decide issues before the Tribunal;

(b) to lead the Tribunal in the exercise of its power to make rules under subsection 45(1); and

(c) to provide guidance and assistance to panels.

(a) giving of notice;

(b) presentation of the positions of the parties with respect to issues before the Tribunal and of matters of fact or law on which the parties rely in support of their positions;

(c) summoning of witnesses;

(d) production and service of documents;

(e) discovery proceedings;

(f) taking and preservation of evidence before the start of a hearing;

(g) pre-hearing conferences;

(h) introduction of evidence;

(i) imposition of time limits; and

(j) costs, which rules shall accord with the rules of the Federal Court, with any modifications that may be required.

(a) determine any questions of law or fact in relation to any matter within its jurisdiction under this Act;

(b) order that specific claims be heard together or consecutively if they have issues of law or fact in common;

(c) order that specific claims be decided together if decisions of the claims could be irreconcilable or if they are subject to one claim limit under subsection 56(2);

(d) delay or suspend a hearing or delay its decision of an issue

(i) to await any court decision that the panel reasonably expects will assist it in its hearing or decision,

(ii) to allow the parties to make further efforts to resolve an issue,

(iii) to permit further preparations by a party, or

(iv) for any other reason that the panel considers appropriate;

(e) in the same manner and to the same extent as a superior court of record, summon and enforce the attendance of witnesses and compel them to give oral or written evidence on oath and to produce the documents and things that the panel considers necessary to a full hearing and consideration of the matter before it;

(f) receive and accept any evidence, including oral history, and other information, whether on oath or by affidavit or otherwise, that it sees fit, whether or not that evidence or information is or would be admissible in a court of law, unless it would be inadmissible in a court by reason of any privilege under the law of evidence;

(g) in applying the Tribunal's rules of practice and procedure, take into consideration cultural diversity;

(h) lengthen or shorten any time limit established by the Tribunal's rules of practice and procedure; and

(i) award costs in accordance with the Tribunal's rules of practice and procedure.

Panels, Hearings and Decisions

(a) whether the claim and any other specific claim should be heard together or consecutively, or decided together; or

(b) any other issue that needs to be resolved for a dispute resolution process in relation to the specific claim to proceed, if all other parties consent.

(a) is, on its face, not admissible under section 26;

(b) has not been filed by a first nation;

(c) is frivolous, vexatious or premature; or

(d) may not, under section 74, be continued.

(a) whether the claim is, together with any other specific claim, subject to one claim limit under subsection 56(2); or

(b) any other issue, if all other parties consent.

(a) shall calculate the pecuniary losses in relation to the claim, to the prescribed maximum, or, if none is prescribed, to a maximum of seven million dollars, based on principles of compensation applied by courts;

(b) may not include any amount for

(i) punitive or exemplary damages, or

(ii) any harm or loss that is not pecuniary in nature; and

(c) shall award compensation against each respondent party proportional to the party's responsibility for the losses calculated under paragraph (a).

(a) are made by the same claimant and are based on the same or substantially the same facts; or

(b) are made by different claimants, are based on the same or substantially the same facts and relate to the same assets.