DS

Dr. John W. Spellman

Director of the Institute of Asian Cultures at the University of Windsor

Since 1988

3

cases · 5 yrs · HRTO, OLRB

Trial

Motion

Costs

Appeal

Sentencing

3 total

DZ

Representation vote upheld; union electioneering outside polling area and religious appeals did not amount to coercion.

The applicant union sought certification and won a representation vote.

The respondent employer and a group of objecting employees alleged that the union engaged in intimidation and coercion during the vote, including holding a meeting at a Sikh Temple, making religious appeals, and congregating outside the polling area.

The Board found that while union supporters did congregate and electioneer outside the voting area, the evidence did not establish that their conduct was intimidatory, coercive, or destructive of the employees' freedom of choice.

The Board declined to set aside the vote and ordered that a certificate issue to the applicant.

National Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers Union of Canada (CAW-Canada) v. Polytech Coatings Limited, 1992 CanLII 6758

Director of the Institute of Asian Cultures at the University of Windsor · Sikh culture, religion, and conflict resolution · Retained by Respondent

RK

Robert G. Keel

11 cases1990–2013

MG

Marilyn Ginsburg

Not Practising Law1 case1990–1990

JR

John L. Razulis

2 cases1984–1990

AG

Anthony D. Griffin

48 cases1989–2013

WP

W. Gunther Plaut

HRTO0 cases1987–1994

HRTOJul 6, 1990

School board policy banning kirpans as weapons constitutes unjustified adverse effect discrimination against Khalsa Sikhs.

The complainants, a Khalsa Sikh teacher and the Ontario Human Rights Commission, alleged that the respondent school board's policy prohibiting the wearing of kirpans on school property discriminated on the basis of creed.

The Board of Inquiry found that the policy, which classified the kirpan as a weapon, had an adverse impact on Khalsa Sikhs who are religiously mandated to wear it at all times.

The respondent failed to prove that accommodating the wearing of kirpans would cause undue hardship regarding school safety, especially given the lack of any incidents involving kirpans in Canadian schools and the respondent's willingness to accommodate proven violent students.

The Board ordered that Khalsa Sikhs be permitted to wear kirpans of reasonable size, worn under clothing and properly secured.

Harbhajan Singh Pandori and Ontario Human Rights Commission v. Peel Board of Education, 1990 CanLII 12504

Professor at the University of Windsor · comparative religion and Sikhism · Retained by Applicant

RH

Rodney Hull

1 case1988–1988

LK

Luba Kowal

11 cases1987–2009

PC

Peter A. Cumming

HRTO0 cases1980–1995

HRTOMar 11, 1988

Private school's strict uniform policy indirectly discriminated against Sikh student by prohibiting turbans.

The complainant, a practicing Sikh, was denied admission to a private school because his religious requirement to wear a turban and uncut hair conflicted with the school's strict uniform policy.

The Board of Inquiry found that the uniform policy resulted in indirect discrimination on the basis of creed.

The school failed to establish that the uniform policy was a reasonable and bona fide requirement, as it could accommodate the complainant without undue hardship.

Furthermore, the school did not qualify for the special interest organization exemption under section 17 of the Human Rights Code.

The Board ordered the school to alter its uniform policy to accommodate Sikh students.

Sehdev v. Bayview Glen Junior Schools Ltd., 1988 CanLII 8934

Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Windsor · Sikh religion · Retained by Applicant

DS

Administrative Law

Human Rights

Employment and Labour Law