The appellant, a graduate student with a mental disability, was denied a key to a university building and a rating sheet required for an internship application.
She filed a human rights complaint alleging discrimination with respect to a service customarily available to the public.
The member-designate found in her favour, but the decision was overturned on judicial review on the basis that the services were not customarily available to the public.
The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal, holding that the 'public' should be defined in relational terms rather than quantitative terms.
The Court found that the university and its students have a public relationship, and the provision of the key and rating sheet were incidents of that relationship.
The member-designate's finding that the denial was based on mental disability was restored.
