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Donald Scott Bower v. Toronto Community Housing Corporation and Pat Milana, 2009 HRTO 163 — HRTO | minicounsel | minicounsel

February 13, 2009

Donald Scott Bower v. Toronto Community Housing Corporation and Pat Milana, 2009 HRTO 163

Case Summary

The applicant filed an Application under section 53(3) of the Human Rights Code, which allows a complainant who filed a complaint with the Commission prior to June 30, 2008, to abandon it and file with the Tribunal. The Commission advised that although it received a completed complaint form from the applicant, it was closed as an inquiry only and no formal complaint was filed. The Tribunal found it had no jurisdiction to process the Application under section 53(3) because no complaint was filed with the Commission prior to June 30, 2008.

HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO

B E T W E E N:

Donald Scott Bower

Applicant

-and-

Toronto Community Housing Corporation and Pat Milana

Respondents

DECISION

Adjudicator: Kaye Joachim

Date: February 13, 2009

Citation: 2009 HRTO 163

Indexed as: Bower v. Toronto Community Housing

[1] This is an Application filed December 1, 2008 under section 53(3) of Part VI of the Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19, as amended (the “Code”).

[2] The purpose of this decision is to determine whether the Application is within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal.

[3] Section 53 of the Code provides that a complainant who filed a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission (the “Commission”) prior to June 30, 2008, may abandon that complaint and file an Application under section 53(3) of the Code, prior to December 31, 2008.

[4] The Commission has advised that the complaint form submitted by the applicant with his section 53(3) Application was not filed with the Commission within the meaning of section 32 of the Code as it existed prior to being amended by the Human Rights Code Amendment Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 30. The Commission’s records indicate that although the Commission received a completed complaint form from the applicant on or about June 18, 2008, following discussions with the applicant’s representative, the Commission closed the matter with the status “Closed-Inquiry only”. The Commission further advised that no formal complaint was filed or served on the respondent.

[5] In these circumstances, I find that there was no complaint filed with the Commission prior to June 30, 2008 and therefore the Tribunal has no jurisdiction to process this Application under section 53(3) of the Code.

[6] Nothing in this decision is intended to address the question whether the applicant is entitled to file a new Application under Part IV of the Code.

Dated at Toronto, this 13^th day of February, 2009.

“Signed by”

_________________________________________

Kaye Joachim

Alternate Chair