Furgasa v. Toronto District School Board, 2026 ONSC 563
Applications were filed in 2021 before the Ontario Special Education Tribunal (OSET) and the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO), seeking the same remedy, specifically 1:1 support in the student’s classroom. The Divisional Court in 2026 dealt with two Judicial Reviews brought by the applicant against dismissals by both tribunals. The OSET dismissed the applicant’s appeal on the basis that it had no jurisdiction to order what the applicant was seeking and that the applicant should proceed before the HRTO. The HRTO, following a summary hearing, dismissed the application on the basis that there was no reasonable prospect that the application would succeed. The Divisional Court quashed both decisions.
The Divisional Court found that the HRTO failed to apply the correct test and acted unreasonably when it failed to treat the facts alleged in the complaint as true for the purposes of the summary hearing since those facts would have grounded a finding of discrimination.
In considering the OSET decision, the Court extensively reviewed the legislation and jurisprudence at issue, finding that the Tribunal had erred in limiting itself to a review of placements as defined by the school board and should have conducted a hearing to assess the student’s educational needs.
The case was not remitted back to the OSET because of the passage to time and the fact that the applicant had effectively “aged out “of the school system. However, the case was remitted back to the HRTO before a different adjudicator.