HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO
B E T W E E N:
Bonnie Ford
Applicant
-and-
Andrew Jones
Respondent
DECISION
Adjudicator: David A. Wright
Date: October 1, 2010
Citation: 2010 HRTO 2005
Indexed as: Ford v. Jones
[1] On June 21, 2010, the Tribunal sent the applicant the following letter:
The purpose of this notice is to advise you that the Tribunal is unable to proceed with your Application at this time, and to request that you provide further information, as set out below, with respect to contact information for the respondent.
The Tribunal issued an Interim Decision and attempted to deliver the Interim Decision to the respondent named in the Application by regular mail and courier at the address provided in the Application.
The Interim Decision sent to the respondent was returned marked as “moved/unknown”. At this time, the Tribunal has therefore been unable to contact the respondent at the address you provided.
The Tribunal draws your attention to Rule 6.6 (a) and (b) of the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure:
6.6 An Application accepted by the Tribunal for processing:
a) will be sent by the Tribunal to the Respondent(s), and to any trade union, occupational or professional organization identified in the Application, at the addresses provided in the Application; or
b) will not be dealt with in respect of a Respondent or a trade union, occupational or professional organization that cannot be contacted in accordance with paragraph (a) above, and the Applicant will be so advised; […].
Previous decisions of the Tribunal in Guild v. Kyle-Jansen, 2008 HRTO 347 and Osman v. Elle Productions Security, 2009 HRTO 1426 have explained that it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide and in some cases confirm accurate contact information. The Tribunal may dismiss an Application if it is unable to contact the respondent.
Further to Rule 6.6(b), the Tribunal advises that it cannot deal with your Application in respect of Andrew Jones until you take further steps as follows:
(a) within 20 days of the date of this Notice, provide a current, complete and accurate address for the respondent and explain the steps taken to ensure that the address is current, complete and accurate; and
(b) if you believe that the address previously provided in your Application is in fact current, complete and accurate contact information for the respondent, provide the reasons for that belief and the steps taken to verify that the address is current, complete and accurate.
The Tribunal’s “Applicant’s Guide” provides some examples of how contact information can be found or verified. You may also wish to review the cases noted above, as well as the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure and other Guides to its processes, all available on the Tribunal’s website at www.hrto.ca, before responding to this Notice.
If you do not provide the further information requested above, within 20 days of this Notice, the Tribunal may decide to dismiss your Application.
[2] The applicant wrote to the Tribunal on July 22, 2010 requesting an extension of 30 days to locate an address for the respondent, whom she believed had moved to another country. The Registrar granted the applicant until August 23, 2010 to provide contact information. The applicant did not communicate further with the Tribunal.
[3] As the applicant has been unable to provide an accurate address for the respondent, the Application is dismissed pursuant to Rule 6.6 (b).
Dated at Toronto, this 1st day of October, 2010.
“Signed by”
David A. Wright
Interim Chair