HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO
B E T W E E N:
Colin Eric Barnard
Applicant
-and-
Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario as represented by the
Ministry of Community and Social Services and Patti Redmond
Respondents
INTERIM DECISION
Adjudicator: Josée Bouchard
Indexed as: Barnard v. Ontario (Community and Social Services)
WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS
Colin Eric Barnard, Applicant
Self-represented
Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario as represented by the Ministry of Community and Social Services and Patti Redmond, Respondents
Yashoda Ranganathan, Counsel
Introduction
1This Interim Decision determines the applicant’s request to adjourn the summary hearing scheduled for November 24, 2017, at 1:30 p.m. by conference call.
2On November 9, 2017, the applicant filed a request to adjourn the summary hearing to allow him to obtain legal representation, to gather further documentation and to allow the Tribunal to re-evaluate his right to a merits Tribunal hearing.
3On November 14, 2017, the respondents indicated their consent to the request to adjourn for the purpose of allowing the applicant to obtain legal representation.
Decision
4The applicant’s adjournment request is denied.
5On August 25, 2017, the Tribunal issued a Notice of Summary Hearing (the “Notice”) to the parties. The Notice advised that if any party is unable to attend the hearing on the dates scheduled, the party seeking rescheduling must act 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. It also advised that retaining a new representative who is not available or prepared to proceed on the scheduled date is normally not considered an exceptional circumstance.
6The Tribunal has made it clear on numerous occasions that adjournments are not automatically granted. The Tribunal’s Practice Direction on Scheduling of Hearings and Mediations, Rescheduling Requests, and Requests for Adjournments reads as follows:
The Tribunal 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 Tribunal will only grant adjournments in extraordinary circumstances such as illness of a party, witness or representative. Absent exceptional circumstances, the Tribunal 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 (“Vallentyne”), 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 [now fourteen] 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 [now fourteen] days that they are unavailable, and providing that requests for adjournment will not otherwise be granted, absent exceptional circumstances.
8In addition, in Vallentyne at para. 6, the Tribunal held that the unavailability of counsel is not an extraordinary circumstance justifying an adjournment:
The decision of a party to retain counsel after a hearing is scheduled is not the type of circumstance that would justify a request for an adjournment. Absent exceptional circumstances, a party must find counsel who is available on the date already scheduled…
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 my view, the applicant’s failure to retain counsel is not an exceptional circumstance warranting adjournment.
11In addition, the applicant is not required to call any evidence at a summary hearing, he is merely to indicate what evidence he will rely upon in order to establish his claim of discrimination.
12In my view, the applicant’s wish to gather further documentation is not an exceptional circumstance warranting adjournment.
13Finally, on August 17, 2017, the Tribunal issued a Case Assessment Direction indicating that it had decided to hold a summary hearing in this matter. That decision is not under review.
14The parties are directed to participate in the summary hearing on the date already specified by the Tribunal.
ORDER
15The applicant’s Request is denied. The summary hearing will proceed as scheduled on November 24, 2017.
Dated at Toronto, this 15th day of November, 2017.
“Signed by”
Josée Bouchard
Vice-chair