The plaintiff, a highly educated woman of East Indian origin, repeatedly applied for teaching positions at the defendant college but was never interviewed or hired.
She brought a civil action claiming damages for discrimination based on race and national origin, arguing both a common law tort of discrimination and a breach of The Ontario Human Rights Code.
The Supreme Court of Canada held that no common law tort of discrimination exists.
The Court found that the comprehensive administrative and adjudicative scheme established by the Code forecloses any civil action based directly on a breach of the Code or on an invocation of the public policy expressed within it.