Practice direction: Requesting an adjournment or a stay

An adjournment pauses or stops a hearing temporarily. A stay of proceedings, sometimes called an abeyance, stops the hearing for a set time or indefinitely.

The Tribunal must conduct proceedings quickly and informally, while still being fair. In deciding whether to adjourn or stay a hearing, the Tribunal considers the fairness to the parties as well as how the request will affect its obligation to decide matters in a timely way. Although the parties’ consent is a factor in its decision, the Tribunal decides whether to adjourn or stay and, if so, on what terms.

In deciding the request, the Tribunal will also consider:

• When the request was made. Last-minute requests are a significant impediment to timely and efficient hearings and use of adjudicative resources.
• The reasons for and the length of the requested adjournment.
• Whether there are related ongoing proceedings in another tribunal or in a court.
• Whether the case has been adjourned before and whether it was adjourned for the same reason.
• Whether there are any exceptional circumstances supporting the request. For example, there is a death in a party’s immediate family, a key witness is too ill to attend, severe weather prevents travel or access to internet.
• Whether there is a risk that evidence may be lost or that witnesses may no longer be available to testify if the request is granted.
• The fairness of granting or refusing the request on all parties.

A stay will only be granted in exceptional cases. The following Tribunal decisions are examples of how the Tribunal has decided requests for stays.

• Choudhary v. Greg Scott and Kinistin Saulteaux Nation, 2022 CHRT 28
• Bailie et al. v. Air Canada and Air Canada Pilots Association, 2012 CHRT 6 at para 22
• Hughes v. Transport Canada, 2020 CHRT 21 at para 20
• Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies and Acoby v. Correctional Service of Canada, 2019 CHRT 30 at para 14

As soon as possible after realizing you need an adjournment or a stay, you must consult all the other parties and ask whether they agree to your request.

Make your request by Notice of Motion, serve it on all parties and file it with the Tribunal as required by the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure. This is Rule 26 in the CHRT Rules of Procedure and Rule 15 in the Rules Respecting Pay Equity. The motion must explain:

• what you want the Tribunal to do—adjourn or stay the hearing
• why you want the adjournment or stay
• how long you want the hearing adjourned or stayed
• whether the other parties agree to your request

The other parties can respond to the request. The Tribunal may:

• decide the request based on the written notice and any response, or
• hold a hearing to listen to your arguments and then decide the request.

In urgent situations, for example a sudden illness or a death in the family, email the Tribunal as soon as possible explaining why you need the adjournment and for how long. Copy the other parties on your email where possible.

If you are trying to settle the complaint with the other parties, the Tribunal may grant an adjournment if it believes it would facilitate an agreement. It would do so only in exceptional cases and for a limited time.

Make a written request from all parties setting out:

• what steps you intend to take to settle the complaint and a schedule with dates for each step
• how long you want to adjourn
• report back dates—you must agree to keep the Tribunal informed about your progress

The Tribunal may want to speak to you and the other parties during the adjournment. If the Tribunal thinks that not enough progress is being made, it can make further directions or cancel the adjournment. That does not prevent you from continuing to try to settle.

Questions? Contact the Registry.