Seyed Hossein Hessami Booshehri v. Chungsen Leung, 2015 HRTO 1357

Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario

Between:

Seyed Hossein Hessami Booshehri Applicant

-and-

Chungsen Leung Respondent

Decision

Adjudicator: Leslie Reaume Date: October 9, 2015 Citation: 2015 HRTO 1357 Indexed as: Hessami Booshehri v. Leung

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 August 13, 2015, alleging discrimination against a Member of Parliament of Canada ("M.P.").

2A Notice of Intent to Dismiss ("NOID") dated September 2, 2015 was sent to the applicant by the Tribunal. In the NOID, the Tribunal advised the applicant that it appeared that the Application was outside the Tribunal's jurisdiction because the respondent appeared to be "a federal government department, agency or a federally regulated employer or service provider". The Tribunal directed the applicant to provide submissions addressing this issue.

3The applicant responded to the NOID, indicating that he is not sure whether the Application falls within federal or provincial jurisdiction.

4Under 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, for example, Masood v. Bruce Power, 2008 HRTO 381; Belcastro v. Metrolinx Go Transit, 2012 HRTO 2121.

5The allegations appear to relate to comments made during a public meeting where the respondent was acting in his role as an M.P.

6The Code only applies to matters that fall within provincial, rather than federal, jurisdiction. The Application is not within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal and accordingly it is dismissed pursuant to Rule 13.1 of the Tribunal's Rules of Procedure.