HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO
B E T W E E N:
Aparna Sanwalka
Applicant
-and-
Peel Non-Profit Housing Corporation o/a Peel Living, Ida Wong and Regional Municipality of Peel
Respondents
DECISION
Adjudicator: Dawn J. Kershaw
Indexed as: Sanwalka v. Peel Non-Profit Housing Corporation
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 April 24, 2013.
2On January 20, 2014, the Tribunal held a summary hearing in this matter. By Case Assessment Direction (“CAD”) dated April 8, 2014, I asked for the parties’ submissions with respect to s. 34(11)(a) of the Code, and why this Application should not be dismissed. The applicant’s submissions were due on April 29, 2014.
3On April 17, 2014, the applicant e-mailed the Tribunal complaining the Tribunal was not accommodating her. The Tribunal granted her an extension to May 29, 2014 to do her submissions by Bell Relay. The applicant did not make arrangements to do these.
4On July 18, 2014, the Tribunal wrote to the applicant, and she asked for another extension. She told the Tribunal she would request the extension in writing by no later July 21, 2014, but failed to do so.
5On August 1, 2014, I issued another CAD directing the applicant to contact the Tribunal by August 8, 2014 orally or in writing to advise if she was requesting another extension, failing which her Application may be dismissed as abandoned.
6On August 8, 2014 the applicant telephoned the Tribunal and orally requested an extension until September 8, 2014, to provide oral submissions through Bell Relay, and also advised she had an e-mail submission ready, but was waiting for a document from the Law Society of Upper Canada to attach to it.
7In response, the Tribunal wrote to the applicant on August 19, 2014 and requested that the applicant file her e-mail submission by September 8, 2014. She also was directed to advise the Tribunal by no later than September 8, 2014, whether her e-mail took the place of the oral submission through Bell Relay. She was advised that if not and she still wished to make an oral submission, she should contact the Tribunal by no later than September 8, 2014 to arrange a time to do the Bell Relay submissions.
8On September 8, 2014, the applicant e-mailed the Tribunal asked that she be permitted to make her Bell Relay submissions after September 11, 2014.
9The applicant did not contact the Tribunal further, and I issued another CAD on November 14, 2014 directing that the applicant contact the Tribunal by no later than November 24, 2014 to set up a date and time to do her Bell Relay submissions, failing which the Tribunal would decide the summary hearing on the basis of the documents and oral submissions already submitted.
10On November 26, 2014, the applicant again e-mailed the Tribunal, but did not give dates or times on which she could do the Bell Relay submissions.
11On December 3, 2014, the Registrar sent another letter to the applicant advising that if she failed to contact the Tribunal by December 8, 2014 and provide three alternate dates to do her Bell Relay submissions, then the Tribunal either would deem her to have abandoned her Application or would decide the Summary Hearing based on the documents and oral submissions already made.
12It is now more than 10 days past the December 8, 2014 deadline and the applicant has not made contact with the Tribunal. Given the long history of attempts by the Tribunal to give the applicant the opportunity to make further submissions, her failure to do so and her failure to contact the Tribunal pursuant to the December 8, 2014 CAD, the applicant is deemed to have abandoned the Application.
13The Application is dismissed.
Dated at Toronto, this 19th day of December, 2014.
“Signed by”
Dawn J. Kershaw
Vice-chair