Kabala v. Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc., 2015 HRTO 610

HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO

B E T W E E N:

Chris Kabala

Applicant

-and-

Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc. and Barb Vance

Respondents

DECISION

Adjudicator: Brian Cook

Date: May 12, 2015

Citation: 2015 HRTO 610

Indexed as: Kabala v. Crawford & company (Canada) Inc.

1This Application alleges discrimination with respect to employment because of disability contrary to the Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19, as amended (the "Code").

2The Application was filed on January 12, 2015. It was delivered to the respondents and they filed a Response which asks the Tribunal to dismiss the Application.

3According to the Response, the applicant was employed by the corporate respondent from October 1998 to August 1999. After the employment relationship ended, the applicant commenced a number of proceedings against the respondents, including complaints to the Ministry of Labour Employment Standards Branch and the Ontario Human Rights Commission and an action in Court. These proceedings were all dismissed.

4The Application concerns the applicant's continuing complaints about the respondents and how he was treated during his employment and subsequently.

5The applicant indicates that in February and March 2014 he made attempts to re-enter the workforce and asked someone to call the personal respondent to ask her for a reference but she did not. The applicant mentions that the corporate respondent has banned him from communicating with the respondents.

6Section 34 of the Code reads as follows:

34. (1) If a person believes that any of his or her rights under Part I have been infringed, the person may apply to the Tribunal for an order under section 45.2,

(a) within one year after the incident to which the application relates; or

(b) if there was a series of incidents, within one year after the last incident in the series.

(2) A person may apply under subsection (1) after the expiry of the time limit under that subsection if the Tribunal is satisfied that the delay was incurred in good faith and no substantial prejudice will result to any person affected by the delay.

7This section means that a person must file an Application within one year of the last incident of alleged discrimination. An applicant may file an Application more than one year after the last incident of alleged discrimination, but only if there is a good faith explanation for the delay.

8Section 45.1 of the Code reads as follows:

45.1 The Tribunal may dismiss an application, in whole or in part, in accordance with its rules if the Tribunal is of the opinion that another proceeding has appropriately dealt with the substance of the application.

9In this case, it seems clear that the allegations of discrimination relate to the applicant's employment with the corporate respondent many years ago. Although the applicant was not happy with the results, those allegations have been dealt with in the complaints the applicant has made to the Employment Standards Branch, the Ontario Human Rights Commission and the court action.

10The complaints also relate to things that happened more than one year before the Application was filed. The applicant's complaint about a request for a reference does not appear to be a new incident of alleged discrimination. It is instead a continuation of the respondents' decision to not have any contact with the applicant.

11For these reasons, the Application must be dismissed.