WCAT will be opening the office to the public on Monday, July 6, 2020 with physical distancing measures in place.

WCAT COVID-19 Safety Plan

WCAT has continued to operate during the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. WCAT has introduced new and enhanced measures to improve personal safety and prevent any risk of exposure to COVID-19. View WCAT’s COVID-19 Safety Plan.

Oral hearings

As of June 1, 2020, WCAT oral hearings will proceed by way of videoconference. If your hearing cannot proceed by videoconference, it may proceed by teleconference or in person.

We appreciate the flexibility and willingness of all parties who are making adjustments so that their hearing can proceed.

Find out more about oral hearings

Get set up for a videoconference hearing

What to expect at a videoconference

What to expect at a teleconference

Secure email

Using secure email to share information. To help keep things running smoothly, letters and other appeal correspondence will be sent by encrypted email to parties and representatives who have already consented to receiving information this way.

Find out how to open encrypted emails (PDF, 614KB)

Anyone who has not consented will continue to receive information by regular mail. If you’d like to receive information by secure email, send a request to emailconsent@wcat.bc.ca. Include your full name and appeal number, if you have one.

December 2020 Amendments to WCAT’s Manual of Rules of Practice and Procedure (MRPP) – Following consultation earlier this year, WCAT’s Manual of Rules of Practice and Procedure (MRPP) has been amended. The amendments are effective December 1, 2020.

The most significant changes concern Item 18 – Certificates to Court. To simplify processing of Certificate to Court applications, WCAT now requires additional information at the time of the application. All applications made on or after December 1, 2020 should use WCAT’s new application form, which is available on our forms page. Under the new process, applications will be processed based on when parties advise they are ready to proceed with submissions. If parties wish to defer providing evidence or submissions, or if they are not yet ready to proceed, the application can be put on hold, either at the parties’ request or on WCAT’s initiative. Where parties require priority processing because of an upcoming trial, court or hearing date, they should make their request a minimum of eight months ahead of time. For further information, please see WCAT’s MRPP and the Court Action Guide .

In addition to Item 18, the following items of the MRPP have been amended:

• 3.2.2 Orders under the Occupational Health and Safety Provisions
• 3.4.1 Constitutional Questions
• 4.9 Workers Employed by the Government of Canada and Federal Government Bodies
• 5.1.3.1 Withdrawal of Incomplete Appeals
• 5.3 Service and Delivery of Documents
• 7.5 Appeal Method
• 8.2.2 Special Circumstances Precluded
• 8.5 Withdrawals
• 9.3.3 Panel Site Visit
• 11.4.2 Evidence Received in Confidence
• 11.5.2 Credibility
• 11.5.3 Reliability
• 14.2.4 Participation in Oral Hearings by Telephone
• 13.1.1 Submission Process
• 16.1.3.1 Reimbursement of Expenses for Expert Evidence,
• 21.1.2 Duties of a Party

You may view the revisions in the MRPP by clicking here . The revisions have resulted in additions, deletions, and modifications which are identified as underlined for additions and struckthrough for deletions. (Posted 2020/12/02)

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We ask that visitors attending WCAT for oral hearings refrain from wearing scented personal hygiene products. Exposure to scented products can trigger a reaction which may require the vice chair to postpone the oral hearing.