HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO
B E T W E E N:
Matthew Deveaux
Applicant
-and-
Niagara Regional Police Services
Respondent
INTERIM DECISION
Adjudicator: Ken Bhattacharjee
Indexed as: Deveaux v. Niagara Regional Police Services
WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS
Matthew Deveaux, Applicant ) Self-represented
1The purpose of this Interim Decision is to decide whether the Tribunal should dismiss the Application on a preliminary basis because it is outside the Tribunal’s jurisdiction.
2On May 9, 2012, the applicant, who identifies as a “half black half white mixed race Bahamian Canadian French and English”, filed an Application under s. 34 of the Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19, as amended (the “Code”), which alleged that the respondent discriminated against him because of his race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, ethnic origin, and age, and subjected him to reprisals with respect to services.
3Specifically, the applicant alleged that after he filled out a rental application, the landlord failed to process it, and one day, the landlord’s wife told him, “I know what you people are like”, and called the police, who removed him from the property for trespassing. He also alleged that after he told the police officer that what was happening was discrimination, and that he would be taking both the landlord and the police officer to human rights, he was handed a ticket and arrested. He further alleged that at the police station, the police deleted two tape recordings that he made of the above incidents from his recorder.
4On October 22, 2012, the Tribunal’s Registrar issued the applicant a Notice of Intent to Dismiss, which informed him that the Application appears to be outside of the Tribunal’s jurisdiction because the Application and the narrative setting out the incidents of alleged discrimination fail to identify any specific acts of discrimination within the meaning of the Code. The Tribunal invited the applicant to provide written submissions to explain how the respondent is alleged to have breached the Code.
5On December 12, 2012, the applicant sent the Tribunal an e-mail, which denied that his Application was outside the Tribunal’s jurisdiction.
6Rule 13.1 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure provides that the Tribunal may dismiss an application that is outside the jurisdiction of the Tribunal. Rule 13.2 further states that where it appears to the Tribunal that an application is outside its jurisdiction, it shall, prior to sending the application to the respondent, issue a Notice of Intent to Dismiss the Application. The Notice is only sent to the applicant, and requires him or her to file written submissions. Under the Tribunal’s jurisprudence, an application will only be dismissed at this preliminary stage if it is “plain and obvious” on the face of the application that it does not fall within its jurisdiction. See Masood v. Bruce Power, 2008 HRTO 381; Morin v. Alliance de la fonction publique du Canada, 2008 HRTO 58; and Hotte v. Ontario (Finance), 2008 HRTO 63.
7In my view, with the exception of the ground of age, which shall be struck from the Application, it is not plain and obvious that the Application is outside the Tribunal’s jurisdiction.
8The Tribunal shall serve the Application, the applicant’s written submissions and a copy of this Interim Decision on the respondent.
9I am not seized of this matter
Dated at Toronto, this 5^th^ day of February, 2013.
”signed by”
Ken Bhattacharjee
Vice-chair