Valentino v. FCA Canada Inc., 2015 HRTO 1675

HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO

B E T W E E N:

Angele Valentino

Applicant

-and-

FCA Canada Inc., Unifor, Ardis Snow and Leon Rideout

Respondents

INTERIM DECISION

Adjudicator: Laurie Letheren

Date: December 11, 2015

Citation: 2015 HRTO 1675

Indexed as: Valentino v. FCA Canada Inc.

WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS

Angele Valentino, Applicant

Self-represented

FCA Canada Inc., Respondent

Clifford Hart, Counsel

Unifor, Ardis Snow and Leon Rideout, Respondents

Anthony Dale, Counsel

Introduction

1This Interim Decision addresses the applicant’s request to adjourn the summary hearing scheduled for December 16, 2015.

2The summary hearing was first scheduled for June 25, 2015, but had to be rescheduled due to the applicant’s failure to attend. The summary hearing was rescheduled for November 16, 2015.

3The summary hearing did not proceed on November 16, 2015, as the respondent counsel had raised the issue of whether the applicant’s representative could continue to represent the applicant in accordance with Rule A9 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure, and that issue was addressed during the teleconference.

4On November 18, 2015, the Tribunal issued Interim Decision 2015 HRTO 1556. The Tribunal ordered that the applicant’s representative was not entitled to appear before the Tribunal as a representative. The summary hearing was adjourned and the Registrar was directed to schedule the summary hearing for another date.

5On November 19, 2015, the Tribunal issued a Notice of Summary Hearing which scheduled the hearing to take place, by teleconference, on December 16, 2015, at 9:30 AM. If any party was unable to attend the hearing that day, the Notice required that the party seek rescheduling within 14 days. The parties were explicitly warned that, after that time, the hearing would only be adjourned in “exceptional circumstances” in accordance with the Practice Direction on Scheduling.

6The Practice Direction on requests to adjourn or reschedule reads as follows:

The HRTO discourages requests for adjournments outside the 14-day period to request rescheduling of a mediation or hearing, described above. Requests for adjournments, particularly at the last minute, are a significant impediment to fair and timely access to justice. Therefore, the HRTO will only grant adjournments in extraordinary circumstances such as illness of a party, witness or representative. Absent exceptional circumstances, the HRTO will not grant adjournments, even when all parties consent.

Where a party seeks to adjourn a previously scheduled mediation or hearing, they must contact the Registrar as soon as the need arises. They must contact the other parties to seek their consent, and to discuss alternative dates for the rescheduling of the mediation or hearing.

The party making the request should contact the Registrar and provide the exceptional circumstances supporting the request and any alternative agreed upon dates. Where the request is on short notice, the party must contact the Registrar by email or fax.

7In Vallentyne v. Royal Canadian Legion, 2009 HRTO 660 at para. 4, the Tribunal explained why, even when there is consent, an adjournment of a scheduled hearing will not be granted absent exceptional circumstances:

The Tribunal is committed to the fair, just and expeditious resolution of proceedings before it. It expects to receive thousands of applications each year. The Tribunal has a responsibility to ensure that public resources are used effectively to meet the demands of all parties before the Tribunal. Therefore, when an adjournment request is made, it is not only the interests of the parties to the particular proceeding must consider, but the fact that Tribunal time reserved for the resolution of those parties’ dispute will no longer be used. For that reason, among others, the Tribunal’s Information Bulletin on Scheduling of Hearings and Mediations, Rescheduling Requests and Requests for Adjournments indicates that even adjournment requests made on consent of the parties more than five days after the hearing is scheduled may be denied. The Tribunal has balanced the interests of parties in having hearings scheduled according to their and counsel’s availability with these broader interests by requiring that a party advise within five days that they are unavailable, and providing that requests for adjournment will not otherwise be granted, absent exceptional circumstances.

8The applicant filed her Request seeking the adjournment on December 9, 2015. She indicates that she is requesting more time to seek adequate representation. The applicant has been aware of the date for the summary hearing since November 19, 2015. As the Notice instructs, the parties must act within 14 days of the date of the Notice if they need to arrange an alternate date. The applicant could have sought a new representative and notified the Tribunal of the need for an adjournment within the 14-day period if that was necessary. Rather than do that, the applicant waited until one week prior to the scheduled hearing.

9Seeking additional time to retain a new representative or retaining counsel late in the day has not been viewed as a legitimate reason to grant an adjournment. See for example: Wilson v. Ives, 2015 HRTO 1435; Pazhaidam v. North York General Hospital, 2011 HRTO 1485; Davie v. PMA Brethour Real Estate, 2009 HRTO 1198.

10In this case, I am not satisfied that the applicant has provided a reason that would justify granting an adjournment. As there are no exceptional circumstances that warrant adjournment of this hearing, the applicant’s request to adjourn the scheduled hearing day is denied.

11The summary hearing will proceed on December 16, 2015, at 9:30 AM.

12The parties should review the Case Assessment Direction dated August 6, 2015 for further information on the issues to be addressed at the summary hearing and the process for a summary hearing.

ORDERS

13The Tribunal makes the following orders:

1. The applicant’s request to adjourn the December 16, 2015 hearing date is denied.

2. The summary hearing will proceed by teleconference will commence at 9:30 AM on December 16, 2015, as scheduled.