Doug Surh v. Toronto Police Services Board and Chris Dobbs, 2012 HRTO 1389

Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario

B E T W E E N:

Doug Surh Applicant

-and-

Toronto Police Services Board and Chris Dobbs Respondents

INTERIM DECISION

Adjudicator: Michelle Flaherty Date: July 16, 2012 Citation: 2012 HRTO 1389 Indexed as: Surh v. Toronto Police Services Baord

1The respondents request that the Application be dismissed under section 45.1 of the Ontario Human Rights Code (the “Code”), because the applicant has filed a complaint pursuant to the Police Services Act (“PSA”), which has appropriately dealt with the substance of the Application. For the reasons that follow the respondents’ request is denied.

2The respondents state at paragraph 11 of Schedule “A” to their Response that the applicant filed a PSA complaint, which was investigated and ultimately dismissed. In support of this request, the respondents attach to the Response a copy of the applicant’s complaint, a letter from the Ontario Civil Police Commission declining jurisdiction over the matter and a copy of a subsequent letter from the Toronto Police Service indicating that it was closing its file because the applicant had failed to contact it to arrange to be interviewed.

3Although directed to do so in a Case Assessment Direction dated March 13, 2012, the respondents have failed to provide the Tribunal with any document in which the Toronto Police Service specifies the nature of the investigation and the reasons for its dismissal of the complaint.

4Section 45.1 of the Code provides as follows:

The Tribunal may dismiss an application, in whole or in part, in accordance with its rules if the Tribunal is of the opinion that another proceeding has appropriately dealt with the substance of the application.

5The Tribunal jurisprudence has considered the issues arising under section 45.1 as two distinct questions: (1) was there another “proceeding”; and (2) if so, did it appropriately deal with the substance of the Application.

6The onus falls on the party seeking to rely upon section 45.1 to show that the other proceeding appropriately dealt with the subject matter of the Application. In this case, the respondents have provided no basis to conclude that the PSA complaint appropriately dealt with the subject matter of the Application. As I have indicated, they have not provided any document specifying the nature of the investigation and the reasons for its dismissal of the complaint.

DECISION

7The Request to dismiss is denied because the respondents have not satisfied me that the PSA complaint dealt with the subject-matter of the Application. I make no finding as to whether the complaint under the PSA is a proceeding for the purposes of section 45.1.

8I am not seized of this matter.