Thomas v. IATSE Local 461 Niagara, 2009 HRTO 758

HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO

B E T W E E N:

Rose Marie Thomas

Applicant

-and-

IATSE Local 461 Niagara, Shaw Festival Foundation, Domenico Marcone, William Talbot, Margaret Molokach, Douglas Ledingham, David Edwards, Archie MacKenzie, Don Finlayson

Respondents

INTERIM DECISION

Adjudicator: Sherry Liang

Date: June 8, 2009

Citation: 2009 HRTO 758

Indexed as: Thomas v. IATSE Local 461 Niagara

1This is an Application alleging discrimination and harassment contrary to the Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19, as amended (the “Code”). The applicant has filed a Request to Expedite the Application, citing financial hardship due to unemployment and lost income.

2The Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure provide for applications to be dealt with in an expedited manner in urgent circumstances. Rule 21.1 provides that an applicant may request that the Tribunal deal with an application on an expedited basis in circumstances which require an urgent resolution of the issues in dispute. Rule 21.2 requires an applicant seeking an expedited application to identify any urgent circumstances that may affect the fair and just resolution of the merits of the application and the harm that would result if the request is denied.

3In Weerawardane v. 2152458 Ontario Ltd., 2008 HRTO 53, at para. 9 the Tribunal held that, for a request to expedite to be granted, the applicant must demonstrate that the circumstances are truly urgent, requiring the resolution of the human rights dispute in a particularly rapid manner as compared with the time required to complete the Tribunal’s regular process.

4In accordance with Rules 5.2 and 21.3 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure, the Tribunal does not require a Response to Request to Expedite from the respondents. Having reviewed the applicant’s materials, I cannot conclude that this Request to Expedite meets the high threshold required by the Tribunal’s jurisprudence. In particular, the financial harm the applicant describes is not the type of circumstance which warrants giving this Application priority for Tribunal resources over other matters. The Request to Expedite is denied.