Navigators
Who can have a navigator
You don’t have to ask for a navigator. We’ll give you one if we see that you’re representing yourself or if you don’t have a professional representative.
When we’ll assign a navigator to your appeal
For General Division appeals and EI appeals at the Appeal Division, we assign you a navigator as soon as we get your appeal.
For all other appeals at the Appeal Division, we assign you a navigator as soon as the SST member (the decision-maker) gives you permission to appeal.
If you need more help
We have a list of organizations if you need more help. Your navigator can tell you about that list.
But your navigator can’t refer you to a specific representative or organization. It’s up to you to pick a representative if you decide to have one.
If you have a navigator, and then decide to get a representative
For most appeals, you’ll stop having a navigator if you get a professional representative, like a lawyer.
You’ll keep your navigator if your representative isn’t a professional. For example, if your representative is a family member or a friend.
The General Division and Appeal Division have different navigators
The navigators at the General Division are specialists in the General Division appeal process. The Appeal Division has its own specialized navigators.
If you appeal at the Appeal Division, we’ll give you a new navigator.
Navigators for EI group appeals
When 2 or more people from the same workplace appeal the same issue or issues to the SST’s Appeal Division, we may handle their appeals as a group. This is only for EI benefits. We call this an “EI group appeal”.
If your appeal is part of an EI group appeal, you’ll have a navigator even if you have a professional representative, like a lawyer.
The navigator will coordinate the details of the EI group appeal at the Appeal Division to make sure it’s processed efficiently. They’ll make sure all the appeals in the group move through the appeal process together. These navigators are also available to answer any questions you may have about the appeal process.