Law360 Canada (September 22, 2026, 4:53 PM EDT) -- Prince Edward Island will move to dismantle a 35-year-old quasi-judicial tribunal and replace it with two new decision-making bodies that will continue to deal with various appeals and disputes.
According to a Sept. 21
news release, the province will do away with its Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC) and replace it with two “focused specialized bodies”: the P.E.I. Energy and Utilities Board and the P.E.I. Land and Appeals Board.
The change comes after the recent release of an interim report by the Independent Review of the IRAC.
The review concluded that the IRAC model created in 1991 “has been overtaken by the breadth, complexity and specialization of the responsibilities now assigned to it,” states a
news release about the report.
The review’s report included 65 recommendations — one of which was for the IRAC to be restructured into the two incoming bodies, each with a dedicated commissioner.
According to a government website, the IRAC is an independent, quasi-judicial tribunal that administers numerous provincial statutes dealing with economic regulation and hears appeals involving provincial planning, tax and residential property legislation.
The IRAC currently consists of a chair, a vice-chair, one other commissioner and “not more than five part-time commissioners” knowledgeable in various areas dealt with by the commission.
With this report’s recommendations in mind, P.E.I. will also establish a transition team to “plan the move to the new structure” so that no active matter — be it appeal, application, licence or “rate” proceeding — is “delayed, restarted or disadvantaged.”
The province will also focus on establishing a “modern, merit-based” system for appointing commissioners.
P.E.I. Premier Rob Lantz commented on the coming change.
“IRAC was created in 1991 to bring three separate bodies under one roof. Thirty-five years later, that same organization is being asked to set electricity rates, protect farmland, hear tenant disputes and decide planning appeals, all at once,” said Lantz in a statement. “That model is no longer working for Prince Edward Island and change is needed. The commission, led by Rory Francis, has given Islanders a clear, evidence-based roadmap for what comes next. We are not going to wait for the final report on Nov. 1 to start doing our part of the work.”
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