John W.T. Judson

The applicant filed two human rights applications alleging discrimination and reprisal in employment.

The Tribunal considered whether to consolidate the applications and whether to defer them pending a related Judicial Review.

Finding significant overlap in facts, issues, and parties, the Tribunal ordered the applications consolidated.

Given the pending Judicial Review seeking similar remedies and raising identical facts, the Tribunal deferred the consolidated applications to avoid concurrent proceedings and inconsistent results.

Following a finding that the City of Stratford violated the Ontario Human Rights Code by mandatorily retiring the complainant police officer at age 60, the Board of Inquiry determined the appropriate remedy.

The Board declined to award damages for mental anguish, finding the complainant's depression was caused by retirement itself rather than its unlawful timing.

The Board rejected the respondents' arguments that damages should be reduced for failure to mitigate or for delay in the adjudication process.

The complainant was awarded $136,958 for past loss of employment income and $54,117 for loss of future pension income, along with prejudgment interest of $101,607.

The Ontario Nurses' Association applied to have the City of London and the County of Middlesex declared the employer of the nurses at the Board of Health Middlesex-London Health Unit for the purposes of the Pay Equity Act.

Applying the Haldimand-Norfolk test, the Tribunal found that the Health Unit has overall financial responsibility, responsibility for compensation practices, and the core activity of providing public health programs independently.

The Tribunal concluded that the Board of Health Middlesex-London Health Unit is the employer, and dismissed the application.