HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO
B E T W E E N:
Susan Ann Vanstone
Applicant
- and-
Mid-Huron Landfill Site Board, Town of Goderich, Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh, Municipality of Huron East, Municipality of Bluewater, Municipality of Central Huron, Township of Huron-Kinloss, Jim Shropshall and Paul Sherban
Respondents
INTERIM decision
Adjudicator: Ian R. Mackenzie
Indexed as: Vanstone v. Mid-Huron Landfill Site Board
WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS
Susan Ann Vanstone, Applicant ) D. Beth Walden, Counsel
Mid-Huron Landfill Board, Jim Shropshall, ) Paul Sherban, Respondents ) Gregory Stewart, Counsel
1This Interim Decision addresses two Requests for Order during a Proceeding filed by the applicant, Susan Ann Vanstone: a Request to add additional respondents and a Request for disclosure of documents.
Request to Add Additional Respondents
2The applicant has requested that the Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh (the “Township”) and the Town of Goderich (the “Town”) be added as respondents to the Application.
3The applicant states that the Mid-Huron Landfill Site Board of Management is an entity of the Township which in turn is under the control of the Town. The applicant submits that since the Board is an entity of the Township and the Town, both the Town and the Township are proper respondents to the Application.
4The respondents object to the addition of these parties.
5The respondents state that the Mid-Huron Landfill Site Board is comprised of representatives of the following municipalities that deposit waste at the landfill: the Town of Goderich, the Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh, the Municipality of Huron East, the Municipality of Bluewater, the Municipality of Central Huron and the Township of Huron-Kinloss.
6The respondents state that the Mid-Huron Landfill Site Board is not incorporated and its administrative functions are performed by the Town of Goderich.
7The respondents also submit that if the respondents proposed by the applicant are to be added, all of the individual municipalities should be added.
8The respondents state that if the additional municipalities that make up the Mid-Huron Landfill Site Board are added as respondents, they will rely on the Response that has already been filed and will not be separately represented at the hearing of the Application.
Analysis and Decision
9The Mid-Huron Landfill Site Board is an unincorporated entity. The addition of these respondents will not result in a delay in the hearing or add any complexity to the proceedings, since those respondents do not intend to file separate Responses or be separately represented. The addition of these respondents is solely to ensure that any award that results from the proceedings is enforceable against the corporate respondent.
10It is therefore appropriate to add all of the entities that make up the Mid-Huron Landfill Site Board.
11The following entities are to be added as respondents to the Application:
a. Town of Goderich;
b. Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh;
c. Municipality of Huron East;
d. Municipality of Bluewater;
e. the Municipality of Central Huron; and
f. Township of Huron-Kinloss
12The Mid-Huron Landfill Site Board has stated that the above respondents will be represented by its counsel. Accordingly, there is no need to forward the Application to the added respondents.
Request for Disclosure
13The applicant has requested the Minutes of closed Board meetings for a series of dates. The respondents agreed to disclose a number of those documents. The respondents noted that there was no meeting on October 14, 2009 so it has nothing to disclose for this date.
14The respondents objected to disclosure of the Minutes of October 21, 2009 because there was no discussion during the meeting regarding the issues raised in the Application.
15The respondents submit that there are no further notes, minutes, memos or documents arising from or related to the closed Board meetings of September 16, 2009, November 18, 2009, January 20, 2010, or June 16, 2010.
16The applicant has requested the contents of the personnel file of the respondent Jim Shropshall, “relating to any and all complaints of sexual harassment, gender harassment or inappropriate behaviour in the workplace”.
17The respondents submit that the personnel file of the respondent Jim Shropshall contains one document relevant to the Application and they agree to disclose it. The respondents objected to the disclosure of the balance of the personnel file based on the privacy rights of the respondent and on the basis that the rest of the file is not relevant to this Application.
Analysis and Decision
18The respondents have agreed to disclose certain documents. Since the parties are in agreement that these documents are arguably relevant and arguably relevant documents are required to be provided, there is no need to issue an order relating to those documents.
19I will not order the disclosure of the remaining documents that are in dispute, at this time. The applicant will have to establish an evidentiary foundation for ordering disclosure, based on the relevance of the requested documents. Disclosure is not a fishing expedition. The applicant will have an opportunity to establish that foundation at the hearing on the merits, scheduled for January 18-20, 2012.
Decision
20The Tribunal orders the addition of the following respondents:
The Town of Goderich, the Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh, the Municipality of Huron East, the Municipality of Bluewater, the Municipality of Central Huron and the Township of Huron-Kinloss.
21I am not seized.
Dated at Toronto, this 22nd day of November, 2011.
”signed by”____________
Ian R. Mackenzie
Vice-chair