HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO

B E T W E E N:

Michael Christianson

Applicant

-and-

Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario as represented by the Attorney General and Superior Court of Justice Southwest Region (Ontario)

Respondents

INTERIM DECISION

Adjudicator: Alan Whyte

Date: November 14, 2008

Citation: 2008 HRTO 263

Indexed as: Christianson v. Ontario (Attorney General)

Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario

655 Bay Street, 14^th^ Floor

Toronto ON M7A 2C7

Phone (416) 326-1312 / 1-866-598-0322 Fax (416) 326-2199 / 1-866-355-6099

TTY (416) 314-2379 / 1-800-424-1168

E-mail hrto.registrar@ontario.ca

Website www.hrto.ca

[1] The applicant filed an Application under section 34 of Part IV of the Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19, as amended (the “Code”), on August 8, 2008. The Application alleges discrimination in the area of goods, services and facilities on the basis of disability as a result of certain statements and Orders made by a Judge in the course of a civil court proceeding involving the applicant.

[2] In an Interim Decision dated September 19, 2008, the Application was amended to reflect the correct name of the respondent Attorney General. The respondents subsequently filed a Response indicating that the Superior Court of Justice Southwest Region (Ontario) is improperly named in the Application as it is not a suable entity and that the respondent Attorney General, alone, is the proper respondent. The Tribunal requires submissions from the parties before determining this issue.

[3] The Response also asserts:

(a) complaints about the conduct of the judiciary are not properly the subject matter of proceedings under the Code; and

(b) the adjudication of legal disputes by the courts is not “services” within the meaning of section 1 of the Code.

[4] The applicant’s Reply does not respond to the above issues raised by the respondents.

[5] The jurisdiction of the Tribunal is based on the provisions of the Code. The Tribunal does not have a general power to inquire into claims of unfairness that are outside its jurisdiction.

[6] Upon receipt of the written submissions required below, the Tribunal will determine the appropriate manner of proceeding, which may include the convening of an oral hearing.

[7] The Tribunal therefore orders:

(a) the applicant deliver to the respondents and file with the Tribunal written submissions regarding the removal of the Superior Court of Justice Southwest Region (Ontario) as a respondent by December 1, 2008;

(b) the applicant deliver to the respondents and file with the Tribunal written submissions addressing the two issues set out in paragraph 3 of this Interim Decision by December 1, 2008;

(c) the respondents deliver to the applicant and file with the Tribunal written submissions in reply to the applicant’s submissions by December 19, 2008.

[8] I am not seized of this matter.

Dated at Toronto, this 14^th^ day of November, 2008.

“Signed by”

Alan Whyte

Vice-Chair