HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO
B E T W E E N:
Prashant Kumar
Applicant
-and-
Toronto Police Services Board
Respondent
INTERIM DECISION
Adjudicator: David Muir
Indexed as: Kumar v. Toronto Police Services Board
WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS
Prashant Kumar, Applicant
Peter Rosenthal, Counsel
Toronto Police Services Board, Respondent
Glenn K.L. Chu, Counsel
INTRODUCTION
1This Application is scheduled to be heard in Toronto on June 16 and 17, 2015.
2A Notice of Hearing was sent to the parties on November 14, 2014. The Notice set dates for disclosure and production of documents pursuant to the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure. The Notice confirmed that requests to reschedule the hearing dates were to be made within 14 days of the Notice of Hearing. Parties were advised that the hearing would only be adjourned in exceptional circumstances.
3On June 4, 2015, the applicant’s counsel contacted the Tribunal advising that he had just been retained. He further advised that he did not have any copies of the documents that relate to this application as the applicant had been unable to retrieve them. The applicant’s counsel acknowledged that the applicant had not met the deadlines for exchanging hearing documents and witness statements but asked the Tribunal to consider the applicant’s disability and housing situation. The applicant requested an adjournment of the hearing dates.
4The respondent has consented to this adjournment request on the condition that the next dates be made peremptory on the applicant.
DECISION
5The 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 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.
6I accept the applicant’s situation presents exceptional circumstances that allow me to grant the adjournment request. In the circumstances I find that it is not necessary that the new hearing dates be made peremptory to the applicant.
7The hearing scheduled for June 16 and 17, 2015 is adjourned. The Tribunal shall canvass the parties for dates on which they are available for a two-day hearing in Toronto.
8I am not seized.
Dated at Toronto, this 8^th^ day of June, 2015.
“Signed by”
David Muir
Vice-chair