Stewart v. Ontario (Children and Youth Services), 2011 HRTO 2218

HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO

B E T W E E N:

Juno Stewart

Applicant

-and-

Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario as represented by the Minister of Children and Youth Services and Ontario Public Service Employees Union

Respondents

INTERIM decision

Adjudicator: Maureen Doyle

Date: December 8, 2011

Citation: 2011 HRTO 2218

Indexed as: Stewart v. Ontario (Children and Youth Services)

wRITTEN SUBMISSIONS

Juno Stewart, Applicant ) No submissions made )

Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario ) as represented by the Minister of ) George Parris, Counsel Children and Youth Services, Respondent )

Ontario Public Service ) Eric O’Brien, Counsel Employees Union, Respondent )

1This Interim Decision addresses a Request by the union respondent made December 7, 2011, to adjourn the summary hearing scheduled for December 9, 2011, to another date in December, 2011 or January 2012. Union counsel provided several available dates. He emailed a request for consent to adjourn to the employer respondent and to the applicant on December 6, 2011, as soon as the conflict arose. Also on December 6, 2011, counsel for the employer respondent emailed union counsel and copied the Tribunal on its email, advising that it does not oppose the Request to adjourn and providing available dates. In his December 7, 2011 request to the Tribunal, counsel for the union respondent advised that he has not received a response from the applicant. The applicant has not communicated with the Tribunal regarding the Request to adjourn.

2The basis for the adjournment Request is that the counsel for the union respondent is required to attend as advisor and possibly provide evidence at an arbitration hearing, pursuant to a December 6, 2011 order of an arbitrator fixing an early hearing date at December 9, 2011.

3The Tribunal’s Practice Direction on Scheduling of Hearings and Mediations, Rescheduling Requests and Requests for Adjournments provides that requests to reschedule must be made within 14 days of receiving the Confirmation of Hearing and that outside that time adjournments will be granted only in extraordinary circumstances.

4The circumstances in this particular case satisfy me that the request for a brief adjournment is justified. The hearing scheduled for December 9, 2011, is adjourned. Both counsel for the respondents have provided their available dates for a hearing in December 2011 and January 2012. The applicant is directed to provide his available dates for a hearing in December 2011 and January 2012 to the Registrar within seven days of the date of this Interim Decision. Should the applicant fail to provide his available dates within seven days of this Interim Decision, the Tribunal may provide further direction or take further steps, including dismissing the Application as abandoned.

5I am not seized.