T.R. Lederer

The applicants sought judicial review of planning applications filed by a land developer for a residential subdivision near proposed airport lands.

The applicants argued the applications were nullities under the Greenbelt Protection Act, 2004, which imposed a development freeze on lands outside urban settlement areas.

The Divisional Court agreed, finding the lands were not designated as an urban settlement area when the Act came into effect.

The court declared the applications and subsequent municipal decisions nullities, and prohibited the Ontario Municipal Board from hearing appeals related to the applications, as it lacked jurisdiction.

The complainant, an East Indian warehouse worker, alleged that his termination and the treatment he received during his employment constituted discrimination based on race.

The Board of Inquiry found that while the complainant's dismissal for insubordination was unfair, it was not motivated by racial discrimination.

However, the Board upheld the complaint regarding the terms and conditions of employment, finding that the workplace was permeated with racial name-calling and harassment.

The employer was held liable for failing to take reasonable steps to eradicate this discriminatory environment.

The complainant was awarded $1,000 in general damages, and the employer was ordered to establish a Management-Employee Race Relations Committee.

Two former waitresses filed complaints alleging sexual harassment by the owner of the restaurant where they worked.

The Board of Inquiry held that sexual harassment constitutes sex discrimination under the Ontario Human Rights Code.

However, assessing the credibility of the witnesses, the Board found the first complainant's evidence inconsistent and exaggerated, preferring the respondent's denial.

The Board declined to admit the second complainant's testimony as similar fact evidence.

Finding that neither complainant discharged the burden of proof on a balance of probabilities, the Board dismissed both complaints.