Aiken v. Ottawa Police Services Board, 2015 ONSC 3793

Case Summary

The applicant, a young African-Canadian man, filed a human rights complaint alleging racial profiling after being stopped by police. The Commission and the police settled the complaint, agreeing to a limited data collection project, but the applicant sought broader systemic remedies, including data collection for pedestrian stops. The Human Rights Tribunal dismissed the applicant's request without a full hearing, deferring to the settlement and finding it lacked jurisdiction to order remedies for pedestrian stops. On judicial review, the Divisional Court set aside the Tribunal's decision, holding that while the summary process was procedurally fair, the Tribunal's conclusions on jurisdiction and its complete deference to the Commission's settlement were unreasonable.

Aiken v. Ottawa Police Services Board, 2015 ONSC 3793

CITATION: Aiken v. Ottawa Police Services Board, 2015 ONSC 3793

DIVISIONAL COURT FILE NO.: DC-554/13

DATE: 20150615

ONTARIO

SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE

DIVISIONAL COURT

LEDERMAN, MOLLOY, and D. L. CORBETT, JJ.

BETWEEN:

CHAD AIKEN

Applicant

– and –

OTTAWA POLICE SERVICES BOARD, OTTAWA POLICE ASSOCIATION, ONTARIO HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, and HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO

Respondents

COUNSEL:

Roger Love and Anthony Morgan, for the Applicant

Charles Hofley and Leanne Fisher, for the Ottawa Police Services Board

Rana Arbabian and Insiya Essajee, for the Ontario Human Rights Commission

Margaret Leighton and Linda Chen, for the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario

HEARD: April 13, 2015 in Toronto

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

MOLLOY J.:

A. INTRODUCTION

[1] This is an application for judicial review of a decision dated May 24, 2013 of Leslie Reaume,[^1] sitting as an Adjudicator on the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, dismissing a complaint of discrimination under the Human Rights Code.

[2] The applicant, Chad Aiken, filed a human rights complaint on July 5, 2005, alleging that he had been discriminated against by the Ottawa Police Service. He is a young African Canadian male who was driving a Mercedes when he was stopped by police on May

Aiken v. Ottawa Police Services Board, 2015 ONSC 3793

Case Summary

Aiken v. Ottawa Police Services Board, 2015 ONSC 3793

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

A. INTRODUCTION

Judges

Counsel

Parties

Areas of Law

Fact Patterns

Expert Witnesses

Issues

Statutory Provisions 3

Legal Tests 2

Legislation 1