Ontario Human Rights Tribunal

In Ontario, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has a specialized responsibility to deal with civil damages and remedies relating to discrimination, harassment, and sexual harassment within Ontario's jurisdiction.  An individual may be entitled to remedies at the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal if they establish that they were discriminated against because of a protected ground in a protected area under the Ontario Human Rights Code.  There is a duty to accommodate a person falling under a protected ground to the point of undue hardship in a protected area.  What is considered undue hardship is largely contextual and depends on the facts of the situation. An individual may also be entitled to remedies if they are subjected to conduct that is known to be, or ought reasonably to be known to be, unwelcome because of a protected ground in a protect area.  An Applicant has a general duty to mitigate their losses which means that a party must takes steps to minimize any losses, damages, injuries, etc., resulting from the breach of the Human Rights Code or it is likely that their award will be restricted, possibly even denied.  Applications at the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal must generally be filed within 1 year of the incident or last incident in a chain of incidents.  It is important to distinguish between human rights issues that fall within the jurisdiction of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal and issues that fall within the jurisdiction of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.  Different laws apply to each tribunal and it is important that an application be brought in the correct jurisdiction.  Contact Joseph Gelinas, Licensed Paralegal for a free quote and consultation.