Ernest Blundell v. Gravenhurst Plumbing Heating and Electric, 2010 HRTO 1045

HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO

B E T W E E N:

Ernest Blundell

Applicant

-and-

Gravenhurst Plumbing Heating and Electric,

Ken Bowen, Dave Brown and Chip Lougheed

Respondents

INTERIM decision

Adjudicator: Judith Keene

Date: May 11, 2010

Citation: 2010 HRTO 1045

Indexed as: Blundell v. Gravenhurst Plumbing Heating and Electric

1The applicant filed an Application under section 34 of the Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19, as amended (the “Code”), on November 16, 2009.

2On February 1, 2010, the Tribunal issued a Notice of Application to the respondents. The respondents were advised that a Response must be filed with the Tribunal not later than 35 days after February 1, 2010. The corporate respondent responded to the Application using one of the Tribunal’s forms on March 5, 2010. The form, which appears to have been filed only on behalf of the corporate respondent, contains a notation as follows: “construction section as per Employment Standards Act. We have right to lay off.”

3On March 9, 2010, the Tribunal wrote to the respondents indicating that the form that should be used to file their Response is the Tribunal’s Form 2, enclosing a copy of the Form 2 and asking the respondents to clarify whether or not their Response was being filed on behalf of all respondents. If so, the respondents were asked to include all respondents with their contact information on the Form 2. The respondents were asked to provide the complete Response by March 29, 2010. As of the date of this Interim Decision, there has been no Response from any of the respondents, nor has the Tribunal’s correspondence been returned.

4An application to the Tribunal starts a legal proceeding. A finding that a violation of the Code has occurred may lead to various orders, including monetary compensation, other forms of restitution to the applicant, and orders to take action to promote compliance with the Code. Failure to file a response or participate in a Tribunal proceeding may lead to orders against individual and corporate respondents without their participation. The respondents’ attention is drawn to Rule 5.5 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure, which reads as follows:

5.5 Where an Application is delivered to a Respondent who does not respond to the Application, the Tribunal may:

a) deem the Respondent to have accepted all of the allegations in the Application;

b) proceed to deal with the Application without further notice to the Respondent;

c) deem the Respondent to have waived all rights with respect to further notice or participation in the proceeding;

d) decide the matter based only on the material before the Tribunal.

5The applicant has provided an address, phone number, and fax number of a contact person for the all of the respondents. The Tribunal shall send a copy of this Interim Decision to the respondents by regular mail, courier and fax.

6If the respondents wish to participate in this proceeding, they must file a Response or Responses by May 14, 2010, together with an explanation of why a corrected Response or Responses were not filed in accordance with the Notice of Application and letter from the Registrar. If a Response is not received from any respondent named in the Application, the Tribunal may proceed without further notice to that respondent, and may take any or all of the steps set out in Rule 5.5.

7I am not seized of this matter.