Human rights complaint dismissed; despite statistical evidence of systemic bias, individual applicant was assessed fairly.
The complainant, a 50-year-old black woman, alleged she was denied employment as a correctional officer due to her race, sex, and age.
The Ontario Human Rights Commission presented extensive statistical evidence demonstrating systemic bias against women and non-Europeans in the respondent's hiring practices, which the Board accepted as establishing a prima facie case of discrimination.
However, the Board dismissed the individual complaint, finding that the superintendent who interviewed the complainant assessed her fairly and objectively, and reasonably concluded she lacked the necessary characteristics to manage inmates effectively.
Blake v. Ontario (Ministry of Correctional Services), 1984 CanLII 5043
