Paquette v. Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario
In 2019, the applicant filed an application alleging discrimination in employment because of disability. In March 2023, the Tribunal directed the parties to file their documents in anticipation of a hearing of the merits of the application. Several months later, the Tribunal directed the applicant to re-file two allegedly illegible documents. The applicant responded by filing the two documents again in a different format as well as a number of additional documents.
In response, the adjudicator issued an endorsement, dated June 25, 2024 in which she re-stated that the two documents were illegible and directed the applicant to re-file them in a legible format, failing which the application could be dismissed as abandoned. The applicant responded to the endorsement but apparently mistakenly filed incorrect documents.
On July 17, 2024, the respondent sought the dismissal of the application as abandoned. The applicant responded to the respondent’s request but on August 8 2024, the Tribunal dismissed the application as abandoned.
The Court found that the decision of the Tribunal was “entirely unreasonable” for the simple reason that the documents in issue were legible. All the parties before the Court agreed that the documents were legible. The decision was set aside and remitted to the Tribunal for a hearing before another adjudicator.