To all Chairpersons and Members of Employment Insurance Boards of Referees

Subject: Privacy and Security of Personal Information

The purpose of this e-mail is to remind you that Board of Referees members commit to upholding the principles of the "Code of Conduct and Values for Employment Insurance Board of Referees" Code of Conduct and Values for Employment Insurance Board of Referees which addresses the privacy and security of personal information issue and for which awareness is constantly required.

As mentioned in this Code of Conduct and Values document and in many instances during Board of Referees training, information contained in the appeal dockets and disclosed at Board of Referees hearings must be treated as strictly confidential and safeguarded from disclosure. In other words, in order to respect the principles of natural justice, you are required to act with discretion by only discussing cases inside the boardroom and only with the individuals involved in the case.

To preserve the integrity of the decision-making process and to protect the privacy of interested parties to the appeal, you may not disclose any information about an appeal with any person or organization, including family members, relatives, friends, business associates, the media, Members of Parliament or other political representatives.

In addition, you must safeguard the appeal dockets you receive and any recording device (i.e. USB key, CD, etc.) on which pre-hearing work has been saved, in preparation for the appeal hearing, from possible loss or unauthorized disclosure to anyone. At the end of the day’s session, return the appeal dockets and any notes taken before or during the hearing to the Board of Referees Assistant for shredding and erase all information regarding specific cases from your recording device and personal computer.

We thank you for your attention regarding this very sensitive matter.