Posted at 11:00 a.m.
I became president of the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL) in October 2017 with the mandate to implement the recommendations made by the Auditor General of Quebec following an investigation that led to damning findings. The Auditor General raised major shortcomings, mainly with respect to the supervision of the workload of Tribunal members and the evaluation of their performance, the planning of roles and the use of available hearing time. .
Each of these shortcomings had the effect of delaying the processing of requests submitted by citizens. The Auditor General’s recommendations were clear, and their implementation was necessary. Among those :
- “Target ways to reduce the processing time and the inventory of requests in order to improve speed and accessibility. »
- “Optimize the use of hearing time, in particular by determining guidelines on summons levels developed using management information. »
- “Ensure compliance with the regulations in force with regard to the remuneration and other working conditions of managers. »
- “Put in place clear rules regarding, among other things, the availability to work of managers, the management of absences, the scheduling process and the establishment of scales on the level of summons. »
It was therefore necessary to undertake a shift in order to meet the expectations of citizens. In particular, this required the establishment of a clear policy governing the organization of the work of the members of the Tribunal and the optimization of the scheduling process. It was also necessary to put an end to a bank of leaves granted without entitlement to members.
The results made public yesterday precisely show that the implementation of the Auditor General’s recommendations has improved file processing times. There is currently a 56% drop in the number of applications awaiting a hearing compared to 2017. The average time for a first hearing has fallen from 5.5 months in 2016-2017 to 3 months. The average time to hear general and priority civil cases fell from 19.2 months in 2016-2017 to 6.4 months for general cases and from 15.4 months to 4.6 months for priority cases.
The management remains in constant communication with all the members of the tribunal, and not only with those who are members of the Association of Administrative Judges of the TAL (AJATAL), to provide them with the necessary support in order to accomplish their work at the up to the expectations of citizens. The Tribunal was also able to benefit from the support of 10 additional members to carry out its mission.
In the current context, where housing is at the heart of the concerns of citizens and the State, the Court’s dynamism and performance are more necessary than ever. This contribution is essential.