HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO
B E T W E E N:
Michael Knorz
Applicant
-and-
The Corporation of the Municipality of Wawa and The Corporation of the Municipality of Wawa Police Services Board
Respondents
INTERIM DECISION
Adjudicator: Sherry Liang
Indexed as: Knorz v. Wawa (Municipality)
1This is an Application filed on July 16, 2010, under section 34 of Part IV of the Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19, as amended (the “Code”).
2In its Response, the respondent, The Corporation of the Municipality of Wawa Police Services Board (the “Board”), requested that the Application be deferred pending the completion of related proceedings. By Case Assessment Direction dated October 26, 2011, I requested the Board to advise the Tribunal of the status of the other proceedings, and the other parties to provide their comments on the next steps in this Application.
3The Board has advised that an arbitration hearing will begin on January 20, 2012, under the provisions of the Police Services Act. It states that the determination of the issues in that arbitration will resolve the majority of the issues raised by this Application, namely the request for reinstatement or damages in lieu of reinstatement. The Board indicates that there is a substantial overlap in the facts relating to the arbitration and this Application.
4The respondent, the Corporation of the Municipality of Wawa, has not responded to the Case Assessment Direction. The applicant states that he agrees to the deferral of the Application until the completion of the arbitration.
5Having regard to the material before me, I find it appropriate to order that this Application be deferred pending the completion of the arbitration. Although it is not apparent whether the human rights issues the applicant raises in his Application will be dealt with in the arbitration, it appears that there is a substantial overlap in the facts of the two proceedings. The arbitration is scheduled to begin shortly and deferral of the Application will avoid having the same facts and issues litigated in two different forums simultaneously, raising the possibility of inconsistent findings.
6The Application will therefore be deferred pending the completion of the arbitration under the Police Services Act. The Tribunal directs the parties’ attention to Rules 14.3 and 14.4 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure, which outline the procedure by which the parties may request re-activation of the Application after the conclusion of that process.
7I am not seized of this matter.
Dated at Toronto, this 28th day of November, 2011.
“Signed by”
Sherry Liang
Vice-chair