Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario
Rules of Procedure

Removed and replaced. Please see Rules A1 to A10.

The Chair of the Tribunal may also issue practice directions to provide further information about the Tribunal's practices or procedures.

The Tribunal may establish forms to be used in its proceedings. In these Rules, where a form is referred to by number, the reference is to the form with that number that is described in the List of Forms ("Forms") at the end of these Rules. The Forms are not part of these Rules.

In these Rules:

"affected person" means a person, organization, trade union or other occupational or professional association identified in an Application or Response as being affected by a proceeding and entitled to notice of the proceeding;

"bargaining agent" means a union or association of employees which has the right to represent employees in a workplace;

"Code" means the Ontario Human Rights Code;

"Commission" means the Ontario Human Rights Commission;

"Confirmation of Hearing" means a notice sent by the Tribunal to the parties setting out dates for the parties to complete a step in the hearing process;

"file" means file with the Tribunal and a "filing" is anything that is filed;

"holiday" means any Saturday, Sunday, or other day on which the Tribunal's offices are closed;

"Legal Support Centre" means the Human Rights Legal Support Centre established under Part IV.1 of the Code;

"member" means a member of the Tribunal;

"party" means any person or organization entitled to participate in a proceeding as a party under s. 36 of the Code and the Commission if added with the consent of the applicant under s. 37(2), and includes any other person or organization added by the Tribunal as a party or intervenor, with or without terms, including the Commission under s. 37(1).

"proceedings" before the Tribunal include all processes of the Tribunal at any time following the filing of an Application until the Application is finally determined;

"rules" means the specific Rules of Procedure for the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario;

"Tribunal" means the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario; and "Vice-Chair" means a Vice-Chair of the Tribunal.

Removed and replaced. Please see Rules A1 to A10.

The Tribunal will determine how a matter will be dealt with and may use procedures other than traditional adjudicative or adversarial procedures.

In order to provide for the fair, just and expeditious resolution of any matter before it the Tribunal may:

1. lengthen or shorten any time limit in these Rules;
2. add or remove a party;
3. allow any filing to be amended;
4. consolidate or hear Applications together;
5. direct that Applications be heard separately;
6. direct that notice of a proceeding be given to any person or organization, including the Commission;
7. determine and direct the order in which issues in a proceeding, including issues considered by a party or the parties to be preliminary, will be considered and determined;
8. define and narrow the issues in order to decide an Application;
9. make or cause to be made an examination of records or other inquiries, as it considers necessary;
10. determine and direct the order in which evidence will be presented;
11. on the request of a party, direct another party to adduce evidence or produce a witness when that person is reasonably within that party's control;
12. permit a party to give a narrative before questioning commences;
13. question a witness;
14. limit the evidence or submissions on any issue;
15. advise when additional evidence or witnesses may assist the Tribunal;
16. require a party or other person to produce any document, information or thing and to provide such assistance as is reasonably necessary, including using any data storage, processing or retrieval device or system, to produce the information in any form;
17. on the request of a party, require another party or other person to provide a report, statement, or oral or affidavit evidence;
18. direct that the deponent of an affidavit be cross-examined before the Tribunal or an official examiner;
19. make such further orders as are necessary to give effect to an order or direction under these Rules;
20. attach terms or conditions to any order or direction;
21. consider public interest remedies, at the request of a party or on its own initiative, after providing the parties an opportunity to make submissions;
22. notify parties of policies approved by the Commission under s. 30 of the Code, and receive submissions on the policies; and
    • v.1. Removed and replaced. Please see Rules A1 to A10.
23. take any other action that the Tribunal determines is appropriate.

Where an order of the Tribunal or a Rule refers to a number of days, the reference is to calendar days.

Where an action is to be done within a specified number of days, the days are counted by excluding the first day and including the last day.

When the time for doing an act expires on a holiday, the act may be done on the next day that is not a holiday.

Individuals are entitled to communicate with the Tribunal in either English or French.

All written communications with the Tribunal, including e-mail correspondence, must be addressed to the Registrar, with a copy delivered to all other parties.

Removed and replaced. Please see Rules A1 to A10.

A party must notify the Tribunal and all parties and their representatives, in writing, of any change in their contact information, as soon as possible.

Removed and replaced. Please see Rules A1 to A10.

Removed and replaced. Please see Rules A1 to A10.

When filing any document with the Tribunal, except for documents filed with an Application (Form 1), a Response (Form 2) or a Reply (Form 3), a party or any other person must include the following information:

1. name of the applicant and respondent in the Application;
2. name of the person filing the document and, if applicable, his/her representative's name;
3. mailing address, telephone number and email address of the person filing the document or his/her representative; and
4. Application file number, if available.

Documents may be filed with the Tribunal by:

1. Removed;
2. courier or regular, registered or certified mail to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario at its mailing address;
3. e-mail - hrto.registrar@ontario.ca, with attachments not greater than 10mb in one e-mail;
4. as directed by the Tribunal.

Notwithstanding Rule 1.17, Applications filed by the Commission or by the Legal Support Centre must be filed electronically in accordance with the Practice Directions of the Tribunal.

Documents received after 5 p.m. by email will be deemed to have been received on the next business day.

When filing paper documents by courier or regular, registered or certified mail, a party must file a second unbound copy of any bound document.

A party filing any document, other than an Application (Form 1) or a Response (Form 2) under ss. 34(1) or 34(5) of the Code, including by email, must deliver a copy of the document to all other parties to the Application and must verify that s/he has done so by filing a Statement of Delivery in Form 23 or by confirming the delivery to the other parties on the cover letter or email.

Documents must be delivered in one of the following ways:

1. hand delivery;
2. regular, registered or certified mail;
3. courier;
4. e-mail where the person or parties receiving the document has consented to e-mail delivery; or
5. any other way agreed upon by the parties or directed by the Tribunal.

When a party has a representative, documents must be delivered to the representative.

Where a document is delivered by a party or sent by the Tribunal, receipt is deemed to have occurred when delivered or sent:

1. by mail, on the fifth day after the postmark date;
2. by courier, on the second day after it was given to the courier;
3. by e-mail, on the day sent or if sent after 5 p.m., delivery will be deemed to have occurred the next day;
4. by hand, when given to the party or when left with a person at the party's last known address.

A party responsible for delivering a document under these Rules must file a Statement of Delivery in Form 23 with the Tribunal or confirm delivery to the other parties on the cover letter or e-mail. The Statement of Delivery must be filed:

1. with the document, when the document is filed with the Tribunal; or
2. no later than two days after the deemed date of delivery, if the document is not being filed with the Tribunal.

An Applicant wishing to withdraw an Application must file a completed Request to Withdraw (Form 9) or otherwise communicate to the Tribunal in writing their intention to withdraw the Application.

• 10.1.1 An applicant requesting to withdraw an Application only as against certain respondents must specify in their request against whom they are requesting withdrawal. Otherwise, the request will be processed as a request to withdraw the entirety of the Application.

Where the Application was filed on behalf of another person under s. 34(5) of the Code, the Request to Withdraw must also include a completed Consent, whether the request is made by way of completed Form 9 or otherwise in writing.

If a Notice of Application has already been issued when a request to withdraw is filed, the Tribunal may request submissions from the other parties, and the Tribunal may set conditions on the withdrawal or refuse the request to withdraw.

A Commission Application under s. 35 of the Code must be in Form 7, Application by Commission and must be complete. The Application must be delivered to the Respondents and any affected persons identified in Form 7 and filed with the Tribunal.

A complete Commission Application under s. 35 of the Code must:

1. include a statement why, in the opinion of the Commission, the Application is in the public interest;
2. set out the issues the Commission wants to address;
3. set out all the material facts upon which the Commission intends to rely; and
4. set out the remedies the Commission is seeking.

A respondent or an identified affected person who wishes to respond to the Commission Application must deliver a completed Response to Commission Application in Form 8 to the Commission and any other party or identified affected person named in the Commission Application, and file the Response with the Tribunal, not later than 60 days after delivery of the Form 7.

A complete Response to a Commission Application must:

1. include a statement setting out the position of the Respondent or affected person in respect of each of the issues and material facts set out in the Commission Application;
2. set out all of the material facts upon which the Respondent or affected person intends to rely; and,
3. include a response to the remedies requested by the Commission.

The Tribunal may, on its own initiative or at the request of a Respondent, filed under Rule 19, dismiss part or all of an Application that is outside the jurisdiction of the Tribunal.

Where it appears to the Tribunal that part or all of an Application is outside the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, the Tribunal shall issue a Notice of Intent to Dismiss. The Notice will set out the jurisdictional issue(s) and require the Applicant to file written submissions within 28 days. Following a review of the received submissions, the Tribunal may dismiss part or all of an Application because it is outside of the Tribunal’s jurisdiction.

Where a Notice of Intent to Dismiss is issued before the Tribunal has sent the Application to the Respondent(s), the Notice will be sent to the Applicant only, and the Applicant is required to file their written submissions with the Tribunal only.

Where the Tribunal dismisses part or all of an Application under Rule 13.1 the decision will be sent to the Applicant. At the same time the Tribunal will send the decision to the Respondent(s), and any trade union or occupational or professional organization identified in the Application, at the addresses provided in the Application, and include a copy of the Application, the Applicant's submissions and all correspondence between the Tribunal and the Applicant on the jurisdictional issue.

Where, after considering the applicant's Rule 13.2 submissions, the Tribunal decides to continue to deal with an Application, the Tribunal will send the Application to the respondent(s), and any trade union or occupational or professional organization identified in the Application, at the addresses provided in the Application, and include a copy of the Application, its Rule 13.1 decision, the applicant's Rule 13.2 submissions and all correspondence between the Tribunal and the applicant on the jurisdictional issue.

Where a Notice of Intent to Dismiss is issued after the Application has been sent to the Respondent(s), it will be sent to all parties to the Application. In such circumstances, all parties are permitted to file written submissions in response to the Notice of Intent to Dismiss. The Tribunal may require certain parties, in addition to the Applicant, to file submissions. All submissions must be filed in compliance with Rules 1.12 and 1.20.

A decision by the Tribunal to continue to deal with an Application after issuing a Notice of Intent to Dismiss is not a final decision regarding the Tribunal’s jurisdiction in respect of the Application. The Tribunal may raise the question of its jurisdiction, or issue a Notice of intent to Dismiss, at any stage in Application’s processing.

For applications filed with the Tribunal prior to June 1, 2025, a mediation shall be scheduled in every application where the parties have agreed to participate in mediation.

For applications filed with the Tribunal on or after June 1, 2025, a mediation shall be scheduled in every application filed with the Tribunal, except where the application is dismissed at a preliminary stage as outside of the Tribunal’s jurisdiction, or where the Tribunal determines that another proceeding is more appropriate.

• 15.B.1.1 Where the Tribunal directs a party, intervenor or affected person to attend mediation, that party's attendance shall be mandatory.

The Tribunal may determine that intervenors or affected persons should receive notice of the mediation and should be entitled to participate.

A party or a person with authority to settle on the party's behalf must be present at the mediation.

Parties, intervenors and affected persons and their representatives in attendance at mediation must agree to abide by the confidentiality agreement before the mediation commences.

All matters disclosed during mediation are confidential and may not be raised before the Tribunal or in other proceedings, except with the permission of the person who gave the information.

Where an applicant is directed to attend mediation and fails to attend, the Tribunal may:

1. dismiss the Application;
2. take any other action it considers appropriate.

Where a respondent, intervenor or affected person is directed to attend mediation and fails to attend, the Tribunal may:

1. proceed in the respondent, intervenor or affected person's absence;
2. If the Application does not settle:
   1. determine that the respondent, intervenor or affected person is not entitled to further notice of the proceedings;
   2. determine that the respondent, intervenor or affected person is not entitled to participate further in the proceedings, including by presenting evidence or making submissions to the Tribunal; and/or
   3. take any other action it considers appropriate.

Where the terms of any settlement are in writing and signed by the parties the parties may request that the Tribunal dispose of the matter in accordance with their agreement by filing a confirmation of settlement using Form 25 (Confirmation of Settlement). Parties may also ask the Tribunal to issue a consent order in accordance with s. 45.9 of the Code.

Where the parties settle the Application during the mediation but do not file a Form 25 before the mediation concludes, the parties have 14 days from the date of the mediation to either file a Form 25 or confirm their intention to proceed with the Application. If neither of these steps are taken by the deadline noted, the Tribunal may administratively close the file without further notice to the parties.

On the request of a party, the Tribunal may reopen an Application that has been administratively closed under this Rule. The request must be made in writing within 28 days of receipt of the administrative closure letter, copied on all other parties, and include the reasons for the request and any supporting documents. The request will be reviewed and a decision will be made by an adjudicator.

Where the parties do not settle the Application during the mediation, the application will proceed through the Tribunal process.

Exemptions to mandatory mediation shall be considered by the Tribunal upon submission of a completed Form 10 (Request for an Order During Proceedings), copied to all other parties, no less than 7 days before the scheduled mediation.

The Tribunal may hold a summary hearing, on its own initiative or at the request of a party, on the question of whether an Application should be dismissed in whole or in part on the basis that there is no reasonable prospect that the Application or part of the Application will succeed.

Rules 16 and 17 do not apply to summary hearings. The Tribunal may give directions about steps the parties must take prior to the summary hearing, including disclosure or witness statements.

When a party requests that an Application be dismissed pursuant to this Rule, it shall deliver to the other parties and file with the Tribunal a Request for Summary Hearing (Form 26), which includes full argument in support of the Request that the Application be dismissed.

A party may respond to the Request for Summary Hearing by completing Form 11, delivering a copy to all parties and filing it with the Tribunal not later than 14 days after the Request for Summary Hearing was delivered.

Upon review of the Request and any Response to the Request, the Tribunal will determine whether to hold a summary hearing on the question of whether the Application should be dismissed, in whole or in part, on the basis that there is no reasonable prospect that the Application will succeed. The Tribunal need not give reasons for a decision to hold or not to hold a summary hearing following a party's request.

Where the Tribunal decides not to dismiss an Application following a summary hearing, it need not give reasons.

Any party may request reconsideration of a final decision of the Tribunal within 30 days from the date of the decision.

A Request for Reconsideration must be made in Form 20 and be delivered to all parties and filed with the Tribunal.

A Request for Reconsideration must include:

1. reasons for the request, including the basis upon which the Tribunal is asked to grant the request for reconsideration;
2. submissions in support of the request; and,
3. remedy or relief sought.

A party who has been served with a Request for Reconsideration may file a Response to Request for Reconsideration (Form 21) with the Tribunal within 14 days of the Tribunal confirming receipt of the Request for Reconsideration; however, a party is not required to file a response with the Tribunal unless the Tribunal directs that a response is required. Where the Tribunal directs a party to file a Response to a Request for Reconsideration, the Response must be made in a Form 21 and filed not later than 14 days after the Tribunal’s direction, unless the Tribunal directs otherwise. Any Response, directed or voluntary, must include complete written submissions in support of its position, and be delivered to all parties.

A Request for Reconsideration will not be granted unless the Tribunal is satisfied that:

1. there are new facts or evidence that could potentially be determinative of the case and that could not reasonably have been obtained earlier; or
2. the party seeking reconsideration was entitled to but, through no fault of its own, did not receive notice of the proceeding or a hearing; or
3. the decision or order which is the subject of the reconsideration request is in conflict with established jurisprudence or Tribunal procedure and the proposed reconsideration involves a matter of general or public importance; or
4. other factors exist that, in the opinion of the Tribunal, outweigh the public interest in the finality of Tribunal decisions.

A Request for Reconsideration made more than 30 days following the Decision will not be granted unless the Tribunal determines that the delay was incurred in good faith and no substantial prejudice will result to any person affected by the delay.

The Determination the Request for Reconsideration shall be conducted by written submissions unless the Tribunal decide otherwise.

• 26.7.1 Where a Request for Reconsideration has been determined, the Tribunal will not consider a subsequent Request for Reconsideration of the same decision, absent exceptional circumstances. The Tribunal need not give reasons for a decision not to consider a subsequent Request.

Where the Tribunal considers it appropriate to reconsider its decision it may:

1. make a decision on the substance of the Request without further submissions from the parties, or
2. determine a procedure for rehearing all or part of the matter.

The Tribunal may reconsider a decision on its own initiative where it considers it advisable and appropriate to do so.

Where the Tribunal decides to reconsider a decision on its own initiative, it will determine a procedure for rehearing all or part of the matter, which will include an opportunity for the parties to make submissions.