Andrea Sanche

The respondent requested the dismissal of a human rights application, arguing it was barred under section 34(11) of the Human Rights Code because the applicant had filed a civil claim based on the same facts.

The Tribunal found that the civil claim was a wrongful dismissal action seeking common law damages and did not allege any Code breaches or seek human rights remedies.

As the proceedings were not duplicative, the Tribunal retained jurisdiction and dismissed the respondent's request.

The applicant filed a human rights application alleging discrimination and harassment based on age and language proficiency, culminating in his layoff.

The respondent requested that the application be barred or deferred because the applicant had already commenced a civil action for wrongful dismissal that included allegations of age discrimination.

The Tribunal found that while the civil claim did not plead all the human rights allegations, the termination was central to both proceedings.

To avoid duplicate proceedings and inconsistent decisions, the Tribunal deferred the application pending the outcome of the civil action.