HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO
B E T W E E N:
Ruth Baffoe Applicant
- and-
481039 Ontario Ltd and Ron Sicard Respondents
INTERIM DECISION
Adjudicator: Naomi Overend Date: February 18, 2011 Citation: 2011 HRTO 361 Indexed as: Baffoe v. 481039 Ontario
1The applicant filed an Application under s. 34 of the Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H-19, as amended, (the "Code"), on January 19, 2009, alleging discrimination in housing against two respondents. No Response was received until the Tribunal issued an Interim Decision setting out the consequences of failure to respond to a human rights application.
2When the Response was received, the only contact information was for an entity by the name of "1865 Martingrove Apts. Apartment Building," which was listed as a sole proprietorship, owned by Evelyn Librach. In the Application, Ms. Librach had been named as the contact person for 481039 Ontario Ltd.
3It is now not clear whether (1) the building is owned in whole or in part by 481039 Ontario Ltd. or (2) 481039 Ontario Ltd. is in any way responsible for the management of the property in question. It is also not clear whether 1865 Martingrove Apts. Apartment Building is the owner and/or the property manager of the property in question.
4Ms. Librach was directed to provide this information to the Tribunal within 14 days of receipt of a January 6, 2011 Case Assessment Direction ("CAD"), but did not respond and the time for doing so has now passed.
5Moreover, although there is a statement written by Ron Sicard attached to the Response, there is nothing in the Response that would indicate that the Response was filed on behalf of Mr. Sicard. That is, under the contact information for the individual respondent, Ms. Librach's name and information appears, not Mr. Sicard's, even though Ms. Librach is not named as an individual respondent, but is only listed as the contact person for the organizational respondent.
6After receiving the Response, the Tribunal attempted to clarify this in writing with the respondents on two separate occasions, but was unable to get the necessary clarification. Subsequent to these attempts, the above-noted CAD directed the respondents to advise the Tribunal whether the Response was filed on behalf of Mr. Sicard, but neither respondent complied with the direction and time for doing so has now passed.
7In view of these deficiencies, the Tribunal can only conclude that the individual respondent, Ron Sicard, has not filed a completed Form 2, in violation of Rule 8 of the Tribunal's Rules of Procedure. Rule 8 provides, in part, as follows:
8.1 To respond to an Application under sections 34(1) or 34(5) of the Code, a Respondent must file a complete Response in Form 2 not later than (thirty-five) 35 days after a copy of the Application was sent to the Respondent by the Tribunal.
a) A complete Response must provide the information requested in each section of the Form 2, respond to each allegation set out in the Application and must also include any additional facts and allegations on which the Respondent relies. …
8An application to the Tribunal starts a legal proceeding. A finding that a violation of the Code has occurred may lead to various orders, including monetary compensation, other forms of restitution to the applicant, and orders to take action to promote compliance with the Code. Failure to file a response or participate in a Tribunal proceeding may lead to orders against respondents without their participation. The individual respondent's attention is drawn to Rule 5.5 of the Tribunal's Rules of Procedure which reads as follows:
5.5 Where an Application is delivered to a Respondent who does not respond to the Application, the Tribunal may:
a) deem the Respondent to have accepted all of the allegations in the Application;
b) proceed to deal with the Application without further notice to the Respondent;
c) deem the Respondent to have waived all rights with respect to further notice or participation in the proceeding;
d) decide the matter based only on the material before the Tribunal.
9If the individual respondent, Ron Sicard, wishes to participate in this proceeding, he shall file a complete Response (Form 2) within 5 days of the date of this Interim Decision. If a Response is not received, the Tribunal may take any or all of the steps set out in Rule 5.5.
10I am not seized of this matter.
Dated at Toronto, this 18th day of February, 2011.
"Signed by"
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Naomi Overend Vice-chair