Jason McDowell v. A Dark Horse 1276458 Ontario Inc., 2012 HRTO 1718

HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO

B E T W E E N:

Jason McDowell

Applicant

-and-

A Dark Horse 1276458 Ontario Inc.

Respondent

INTERIM DECISION

Adjudicator: Naomi Overend

Decision Date: September 11, 2012

Citation: 2012 HRTO 1718

Indexed as: McDowell v. A Dark Horse 1276458 Ontario Inc.

1The applicant filed this Application under section 34 of the Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19, as amended (the "Code"), on May 16, 2012.

2On May 25, 2012 the Tribunal issued a Notice of Application to the respondent in which it directed that a Response to the Application must be filed with the Tribunal not later than June 29, 2012.

3The Tribunal subsequently learned that its Notice of Application sent on May 16, 2012 may not have reached the respondent as the postal code reflected in the address line was incorrect. Accordingly, by way of letter dated July 5, 2012, the Tribunal re-issued its Notice of Application to the respondent in which it directed that a Response to the Application must be filed with the Tribunal not later than August 9, 2012.

4As of the date of this Interim Decision the respondent has not filed a Response, nor has the Tribunal's correspondence to it been returned.

5An 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 individual and corporate respondents without their participation. The 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.

6The applicant has provided an address for the respondent. The Tribunal shall send a copy of this Interim Decision to the respondent by regular mail and courier.

7If the respondent wishes to participate in this proceeding, it shall file a Response with the Tribunal within 14 days of the date of this Interim Decision, together with an explanation of why the Response was not filed in accordance with the Notice of Application. If a Response is not received, the Tribunal may proceed without further notice to the respondent and may take any or all of the steps set out in Rule 5.5.

8I am not seized of this matter.