4. Learn more about the general appeal process

After the General Division of the (SST) gets your Notice of Appeal and any related documents, they send you a letter letting you know that they got them.

Then the SST contacts Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), which is the government department in charge of Service Canada. The SST asks ESDC for a copy of all of the documents related to the decision Service Canada made about your application for .

Next, the SST sends you a letter explaining the appeal process, along with documents from ESDC. They also send a Notice of Readiness form for you to complete and return to them. This form tells the SST that you’re ready to go ahead with your appeal.

The SST also gives ESDC copies of any of the documents you sent to them.

What the SST member does

Once the SST gets Notice of Readiness forms from you and ESDC, your appeal goes to a member of the General Division.

If the member believes that there’s no chance of your appeal being successful, they can dismiss it without a hearing. This is called a “summary dismissal”.  You can appeal this decision to the Appeal Division.

Otherwise, the member:

  • decides your appeal based on the documents they have, or
  • schedules a hearing

Making a decision without a hearing

If the member decides your appeal without having a hearing, they’ll send a written decision after they’ve reviewed all of the documents.

Having a hearing

If the member decides to hold a hearing, you’ll get a written notice from the SST. You can choose to have the hearing over the phone, by videoconference, in person, or by written questions and answers. If you want the hearing in person, it may take longer to schedule.

Getting a decision

The SST aims to make decisions within certain periods of time. But it usually takes several months to get a decision about your appeal.

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