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Ontario|Human RightsHuman Rights 834 Ontario Human Rights Commission process Filing a human rights complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission begins a legal process in which both the person filing and the person or organization complained about, have rights. The person who files the complaint is called a "complainant", and the person or organization complained about is called the "respondent". If you are a complainant, your goal is to have your situation reach the Board of Inquiry.
When dealing with the Commission, you should understand the difference between the commission staff, the Commissioners themselves and the Board of Inquiry. The commission staff accept and process complaints, offer mediation and investigative services, and make recommendations to the Commissioners as to whether the complaint should be referred to a Board of Inquiry.
The Commissioners review the staff's recommendations along with submissions from the complainant and the respondent. The Commissioner then will make legally binding decisions about whether to send the complaint to a Board of Inquiry.
The human rights Board of Inquiry is a completely separate tribunal that functions much like a court. It is completely independent of the Commission. The Board of Inquiry's role is to hear evidence from the parties to the complaint and reach factual and legal conclusions about whether discrimination or harassment has occurred, and order an appropriate remedy.
Until a Board of Inquiry is appointed, the commission staff and Commissioners play a neutral role. They investigate evidence and determine if it warrants a hearing before a Board of Inquiry. However, once a Board of Inquiry is appointed, the Commission then acts on behalf of the public interest during the inquiry by presenting evidence that the Ontario Human Rights Code has been breached.
Only a small percentage of cases, about 5%, make it to the Board of Inquiry. This is because some parties agree to settle their complaint along the way; or the Commission refuses to deal with some complaints for various reasons including delay, or because the Commission does not believe that the evidence warrants proceeding to the hearing stage.
The Canadian and Ontario Human Rights Commissions have been criticized for their backlogs and delays in dealing with complaints. The length of time required to deal with a complaint depends on the nature of the complaint and where it is in the commission process.
Some complaints that require investigation, still take several years between the date of filing and the date on which the Commissioners make a final decision on whether to refer the complaint to a Board of Inquiry. The Board of Inquiry may additionally take several weeks to several months between the time it is appointed and the time when it releases a decision.
However, recent initiatives such as early mediation appear to have improved the situation. Mediation is a process that involves the complainant and respondent agreeing to meet on a voluntary basis to determine if they can settle their dispute. Mediation may result in the parties settling their dispute on terms that they can both agree to without a formal legal decision as to who was right or wrong. Usually, the details of what takes place in mediation remain confidential, and if mediation is unsuccessful the details cannot be used in further legal proceedings.
For further information or advice, you can contact the Ontario Human Rights Commission listed on the Legal Line Guide and website. For legal advice, you should consult a lawyer.
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