Expropriation Act — E-21 10
Public hearing 10 (1) Forthwith after the expiration of the period of thirty days referred to in section 9, the Minister shall, if the Minister has been served with an objection under that section, order that a public hearing be conducted with respect to the objection and any other objection to the intended expropriation that has been or may be served on the Minister. Appointment of hearing officer (2) Where the Minister orders that a public hearing be conducted with respect to an objection or objections, the Minister shall immediately request the Attorney General of Canada to appoint a hearing officer to conduct the hearing and the Attorney General of Canada shall thereupon appoint a suitable person, who is not a person employed in the public service as defined in subsection 3(1) of the Public Service Superannuation Act , to be a hearing officer for that purpose. Remuneration and expenses (3) A hearing officer appointed under this section shall be paid such remuneration and expenses as may be fixed by the Attorney General of Canada with the approval of the Treasury Board. Duties of hearing officer (4) A hearing officer appointed under this section shall (a) as soon as possible after the appointment of the hearing officer and in any case not later than seven days after the date thereof, fix a suitable time and place for the public hearing and cause notice of the time and place to be given by publishing it in at least one issue of a publication, if any, in general circulation within the area in which the land is situated and by sending it to each of the persons whose names are set out in the report of the Attorney General of Canada referred to in subsection 5(2) and each other person who served an objection on the Minister; (b) at the time and place fixed for the public hearing, provide an opportunity to be heard to each person appearing thereat who served an objection on the Minister or such of those persons as the hearing officer deems necessary in order to report to the Minister on the nature and grounds of the objections; (c) make such inspection of the land as the hearing officer deems necessary and receive and consider any written representations filed with the hearing officer before or at the hearing by any person who served an objection on the Minister; and (d) within thirty days after the appointment of the hearing officer, prepare and submit to the Minister a report in writing on the nature and grounds of the objections made. Idem (5) A hearing officer is not required to give any notice, hold any hearing or take any other action required by subsection (4) with respect to any objection served on the Minister under section 9 and may at any time disregard any such objection if it appears to the hearing officer that the objection is frivolous or vexatious or is not made in good faith. Right to legal counsel (6) Any person who may be heard at a public hearing under this section may be represented by legal counsel at the hearing. Conduct of hearing (7) A public hearing under this section shall, subject to this section, be conducted in such manner as may be determined by the hearing officer. Extension of time for report (8) At the request of any hearing officer, the Attorney General of Canada may extend, for a period not exceeding thirty days, the time limited by this section for preparing and submitting to the Minister a report. Costs of asserting objections (9) A hearing officer shall, in any report submitted by him to the Minister under this section, fix such amount, if any, as the hearing officer deems reasonable, not exceeding such maximum amount as may be authorized by any tariff of costs prescribed by the Governor in Council for the purpose of this section, in respect of the costs of any person who served an objection on the Minister that were incurred by that person in asserting the objection, and on the certificate of the Minister the Minister of Finance shall, out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, cause to be paid