The complaint was screened out after a review determined that the allegations did not fall within the jurisdiction of the member complaints process. The Complainant, legal counsel for a refugee claimant, alleged that a member of the Refugee Protection Division acted improperly by repeatedly questioning whether the claimant was reading from a document and later referencing this in the decision without acknowledging counsel's efforts to clarify.
The Ombudsperson determined that the allegations fell under adjudicative independence - specifically, how evidence is assessed and interpreted - and therefore fell outside the scope of the Procedures for Making a Complaint about a Member of the IRB. The Chairperson accepted the recommendation to screen out the complaint, and the file was closed.