David Kent

The respondents in several human rights complaints regarding 'adults only' condominium policies brought preliminary motions challenging the Board of Inquiry's jurisdiction and the naming of individual directors as parties.

The Board held that it has jurisdiction under section 52(1) of the Charter to determine whether the Code's definition of age violates equality rights.

The Board also declined to remove the individual directors as respondents, noting they could be found personally liable for causing the corporations to discriminate, but removed the 'Board of Directors' as it is not a legal entity.

The applicant union applied for certification for employees of the respondent, a company operating a hydrofoil passenger service between Toronto and Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Because the hydrofoil's route passed through United States territorial waters on Lake Ontario, the Board had to determine if it had constitutional jurisdiction over the labour relations of the undertaking.

Applying the Supreme Court of Canada's reasoning in Agence Maritime, the Board found that the undertaking was carried on entirely within the boundaries of a single province, as the route chosen through open lake waters did not oust provincial jurisdiction.

The Board concluded it had jurisdiction and ordered the proceedings to continue.