Pak v. City of Toronto, 2011 HRTO 1876

Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario

B E T W E E N:

Victor Pak

Applicant

-and-

City of Toronto and John Jansen

Respondents

-and-

Toronto Civic Employees Union, Local 416

Intervener

INTERIM DECISION

Adjudicator: Sherry Liang

Date: October 18, 2011

Citation: 2011 HRTO 1876

Indexed as: Pak v. City of Toronto

1This is an Application filed on November 23, 2010 under section 34 of Part IV of the Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19 as amended (the "Code").

2The applicant has filed a Request for an Interim Remedy. Given my determination below, it is not necessary for the respondents to file a Response to the Request.

3The interim remedy requested is substantially the same as that requested in a related application, Tribunal File No. 2011-08135 (the "Vella Application"). The applicant is a paramedic with the City of Toronto (the City) Emergency Medical Services. He seeks as an interim remedy that the Tribunal order the City to issue him a specified number of 100% cotton shirts and pants as a non-standard uniform allotment.

4The applicant has not filed declarations in support of the Request as required by the Tribunal's Rules. I have nonetheless considered the facts asserted by the applicant and the submissions in the Request.

5As in the Vella Application, in August 2010 the City requested that the applicant have his doctor complete a new form to support a continuing requirement for a non-standard uniform. The applicant refused to have the new form completed. As a result, he has not received new clothing. He filed his Application in November 2010, and this Request for an Interim Remedy on October 11, 2011.

6The applicant submits that the requirement to complete the new form violates his rights under the Code. Further, he submits that his current uniforms have been damaged by continuous wear and cleaning, leading to safety issues. He states that his limited 100% cotton items are insufficient to satisfy the demands of his unique work schedule in that at any given time, half of his uniform items are in the process of being cleaned. He submits that it would cause no inconvenience to the City to provide him with the 100% cotton uniforms he requests.

7I see no meaningful distinction between the circumstances raised by this Request and those in the Vella Application. As I stated in my reasons in the Vella Application (2011 HRTO 1831) (see copy attached), from my review of the medical information form, it is not apparent to me that the information sought is so intrusive that it supports an interim remedy pending the disposition of this Application, particularly where its disclosure is limited to the EMS medical advisor.

8Further, the result of the interim remedy would be to grant the applicant part of the final remedy he seeks, without a determination that it is warranted in the circumstances of this case. Finally, the Request for an Interim Remedy has been filed more than a year following the events giving rise to it. This delay is a strong factor weighing against granting the interim remedy.

9This Request is denied.

10I am not seized of this matter.