reduce substantially the number of complaints that are referred for mediation or
adjudication by the tribunal.
IV. OVERVIEW OF ONTARIO’S HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM
Since June 30, 2008 Ontario’s human rights system has included three pillars: the
Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, the Human Rights Legal Support Centre, and the
Ontario Human Rights Commission. Included here is an overview of the roles of each
of these agencies, and the consideration that should be given to each when
representing a client in a human rights application.
A. Human Rights Tribunal of OntarioBefore 2008, people who had experienced discrimination could file a human rights
complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission (“Commission”). Like a
“gatekeeper”, the Commission investigated the complaint and decided whether to
forward the complaint for adjudication to the Human Rights Tribunal (or Board of Inquiry
as it was known until 2002).
The Human Rights Code Amendment Act, 2006 , now requires complaints of
discrimination to be filed directly with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario rather than
the Commission.^28 The Commission no longer performs a gate keeping function.
Instead, the Tribunal receives human rights applications and makes its own
determinations as to how applications will proceed. This is sometimes described as a
“direct access model” where applicants have direct access to a hearing of their
complaint.^29
(^28) Human Rights Code Amendment Act, SO 2006, c. 30.
(^29) Andrew Pinto was appointed by the Government to conduct an external review of the reformed human
rights system. His report and recommendations were submitted to the Attorney General in November
- Andrew Pinto, Report of the Human Rights Review 2012, (Toronto: Queen’s Printer for Ontario,
2012), online: Ministry of the Attorney General http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/ohrc/.