Recently I attended a continuing legal education session hosted by the Toronto Lawyers Association. The topic was Ontario’s new process for human rights complaints. I’d like to briefly explain the new process here.
Under the old process, all human rights complaints had to be filed with the Human Rights Commission. The Commission would investigate the claims, and decide whether they were appropriate to be filed at the Human Rights Tribunal. It was a regulatory process that many complainants found frustrating because they had little or no control over the investigation process, and were not allowed to file the complaints directly with the Tribunal.
The new process is the opposite of the old one. Under the new process, the Commission no longer performs the complaint intake. Rather, all applicants must file their own applications with the Tribunal directly. After the complaints are filed, the Tribunal will adjudicate the cases for all complainants.
What about complainants who don’t know how to file a complaint and can’t afford to hire a lawyer?
The Human Rights Legal Support Centre is set up to assist individual applicants. Its services are available province-wide.
Unlike Legal Aid Ontario, the Legal Support Centre has no financial requirement for eligibility. All are welcome. At the Legal Support Centre, there are staff lawyers that can help answer questions and guide applicants through the process.
You can reach the Human Rights Legal Support Centre by telephone or internet with the information below:
- Website: www.hrlsc.on.ca
- Tel: 416-314-6266
Toll Free: 1-866-625-5179
TTY: 416-314-6651
TTY Toll Free: 1-866-612-8627
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