Roberts v. Icon Property Management Ltd., 2016 HRTO 1583

HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO

B E T W E E N:

Sandra Roberts

Applicant

-and-

Icon Property Management Ltd.

Respondent

DECISION

Adjudicator: Mary Truemner

Date: December 8, 2016

Citation: 2016 HRTO 1583

Indexed as: Roberts v. Icon Property Management Ltd.

WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS

Sandra Roberts, Applicant

Self-represented

Icon Property Management Ltd., Respondent

Jonathan Miller, Counsel

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

2The Tribunal scheduled this matter for hearing in Ottawa on February 14 and 15, 2017.

3On November 28, 2016, the applicant filed a Form 9, Request to withdraw the Application.

4On December 1, 2016, the respondent filed a Form 11, Response to the Request to withdraw in which it consents to the withdrawal, but requests that the Tribunal confirm the withdrawal on a “with prejudice” basis.

5Rule 10.5 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure states that, “where a Response to an Application has been filed, an Application may be withdrawn only with the permission of the Tribunal and upon such terms as the Tribunal may determine”.

6In D.R. v. Upper Grand District School Board, 2011 HRTO 1751, the Tribunal allowed the applicant to withdraw without conditions, commenting as follows at para 4:

The Tribunal appreciates the respondents’ concerns about the time and resources they have devoted to responding to this Application. Nonetheless, I see little to be gained by an inquiry at this stage into whether the circumstances of this Application and the possible motivation for the applicant’s decision to seek to withdraw the Application should lead to the sort of order sought by the respondents. If the applicant seeks to re-file the same allegations in another application, the respondents may raise their objection at that time and may request that the Tribunal refuse to consider a new application.

7While the Tribunal has the power to order that a withdrawal is made on a “with prejudice” basis, it has consistently followed the above reasoning and refused to do so when the applicant has withdrawn his or her Application prior to a hearing. See Lewis v. Ontario Condominium Corporation No. 14, 2016 HRTO 196; Anderson v. Carpenter Housing Co-operative Inc., 2014 HRTO 1545; Sharma v. Securitas Canada Ltd., 2014 HRTO 1386; Myers v. William Osler Health System, 2014 HRTO 1331; Damphouse v. St. Thomas (City), 2014 HRTO 199; McDermott v. Ross, 2013 HRTO 1576; Zaman v. CLV Group Inc., 2013 HRTO 842; and Hall v. Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, 2012 HRTO 1171.

8In the circumstances of this case, the applicant filed her request to withdraw her Application well in advance of the hearing; I see no reason to depart from this consistently followed approach. I find that it is appropriate to grant the applicant permission to withdraw the Application without any conditions.

9The Tribunal shall close its file and the scheduled hearing is cancelled.