HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO
B E T W E E N:
John Gilinsky
Applicant
-and-
Peel District School Board
Respondent
INTERIM DECISION
Adjudicator: Michelle Flaherty
Indexed as: Gilinsky v. Peel District School Board
WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS BY
John Gilinsky, Applicant ) On his own behalf
Maurice Green, Counsel ) Ontario Secondary School ) Teachers/ Federation
Peel District School ) Roy Filion, Counsel
Board Respondent )
[1] The applicant filed an Application with the Tribunal alleging discrimination in employment on the basis of a number of grounds and reprisal or threat of reprisal contrary to the Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19, as amended, (the"Code"). The applicant's union, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation, District 19 ("Union"), has been identified as an affected party.
[2] In an Interim Decision, 2009 HRTO 2053, the Tribunal sought submissions from the parties regarding whether it ought to defer this Application pending the conclusion of the grievance proceeding. The respondent, the applicant, and the Union have filed written submissions in response to the Interim Decision.
[3] The purpose of this Interim Decision is to determine the deferral issue.
[4] In their essence, both the grievance and the Application allege that the applicant has been unjustly removed from the workplace. The respondent and the Union have indicated that the grievance has been referred to arbitration and is scheduled to be heard on February 9, 2010.
[5] The Tribunal will generally defer an application where there is an ongoing grievance under a collective agreement based on the same facts and issues. This is because grievance arbitrators have not only the power but also the responsibility to implement and enforce the substantive rights and obligations of human rights and other employment-related statutes as if they were part of the collective agreement. See Blackman v. Ontario (Community Safety and Correctional Services), 2009 HRTO 970.
[6] Based on the material before me, I am satisfied that the facts and issues raised by this Application are part of the grievance process. Accordingly, the Application will be deferred pending the completion of the grievance and arbitration process.
[7] The Tribunal directs the parties' attention to Rules 14.3 and 14.4, which outline the procedure by which a party may request that the Application proceed.
[8] I am not seized of this matter.
Dated at Toronto, this 27^th^ day of January, 2010.
"Signed By"
Michelle Flaherty
Vice-chair