HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO

B E T W E E N:

Dwain Blair

Applicant

-and-

Ottawa Police Services Board, Vincent Bevan and Gerald Sabourin

Respondents

INTERIM DECISION

Adjudicator: Kaye Joachim

Date: September 24, 2009

Citation: 2009 HRTO 1538

Indexed as: Blair v. Ottawa Police Services Board

[1] A Hearing in this matter is scheduled for November 6, 2009. The parties jointly requested the hearing be rescheduled for five days over the course of two weeks in March to May 2010. The basis for the request is that the parties estimate that the hearing will take five days and they would like those days to be held relatively consecutively, as some of the witnesses live outside the hearing centre.

[2] While the Tribunal’s Information Bulletin on Scheduling of Hearings and Mediations, Rescheduling Requests and Requests for Adjournments does not specifically apply to Transition Applications, nonetheless the principles set out in this Information Bulletin are equally applicable to Transition Applications.

[3] The Tribunal’s Information Bulletin provides that requests to reschedule must be made within five (5) days of receiving the Confirmation of Hearing and that thereafter, adjournments will be granted only in extraordinary circumstances. The Information Bulletin states the following regarding requests for adjournments:

Requests for adjournment, particularly last minute requests for adjournments are a significant impediment to fair and timely access to justice.

The Tribunal’s approach to scheduling and rescheduling mediations and hearings is designed to give the parties a fair opportunity to find suitable dates. Therefore, the Tribunal discourages adjournment requests, and will only grant adjournments in extraordinary circumstances such as illness of a party, witness or representative.

The Tribunal will not automatically grant adjournments even when all parties consent. Consent of all parties will be a factor which the Tribunal will consider where a request to adjourn a mediation or hearing is made, but it is not the only, or even the main factor.

Where a party seeks to adjourn a previously scheduled mediation or hearing, they must contact the Registrar as soon as the need arises. If practical, they should contact the other parties to seek their consent, and to discuss alternate dates for the rescheduling of the mediation or hearing. Alternate dates for mediation must fall within five (5) months of the date of the Notice of Application. Alternative dates for a hearing must fall within five (5) months of the date of the Confirmation of Hearing.

The party making the request should contact the Registrar and provide the reason for the request and the alternative agreed upon dates. Where the request is on short notice, the party must contact the Registrar by telephone or email.

The Tribunal typically will not adjourn a hearing date because the parties wish to “engage in settlement discussions” or are “close to a deal”. The Tribunal encourages mediation and settlements, and will assist the parties in this regard. Where parties believe they may be able to resolve a matter shortly before the scheduled hearing, they should advise the Registrar and the Tribunal will make a mediator and mediation room available. However, the Tribunal discourages the cancellation or adjournment of hearing dates so that the parties can explore settlement.

[4] The reasons for the Request do not constitute exceptional circumstances that would justify an adjournment. The Tribunal recognizes that some proceedings take longer than the initial day or two days typically scheduled, in which case additional hearing days are scheduled. However, the number of additional days is determined by the Member or Vice-chair hearing the application and not the parties. The parties should attend on November 6, 2009 with sufficient witnesses to take up one full day of hearing.

[5] The request for adjournment is denied.

Dated at Toronto, this 24th day of September, 2009.

“Signed by”

Kaye Joachim

Alternate Chair