(Disponible en français)
The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) has a mandate to ensure the fair, just and expeditious resolution of the matters before it. The HRTO expects that parties promptly take all steps necessary to ensure their matter moves through the HRTO's processes in a timely way. The HRTO also expects the parties to comply with the timeframes set out in the HRTO's Rules of Procedure (the "Rules"), directions, and orders, and to be prepared for the adjudicative events when they are scheduled.
The HRTO has developed a procedure for addressing rescheduling and adjournment requests, and will apply this Practice Direction when addressing these requests.
The procedure outlined in this document provides general information only. The HRTO may vary its approach to rescheduling and adjournment requests where appropriate or when a completed Accommodation Request Form is filed and approved by the HRTO.
The HRTO's approach to scheduling events is designed to give the parties a fair opportunity to obtain suitable dates.
When an event is scheduled, the HRTO will issue a Notice setting the date(s) and start time(s) for the event.
If, upon receipt of the Notice, rescheduling is required by a party, the party making the request must attempt to contact the other parties to obtain five mutually available dates (or groups of dates if the event is scheduled for multiple days) within six weeks of the originally scheduled date(s). If the parties agree on alternative dates, the requesting party must advise the HRTO Registrar in writing by filing a Request for an Order During Proceedings (Form 10), copied to the other parties, within 14 days of the date the Notice was issued. The HRTO will make every effort to reschedule the event for dates provided by the parties.
If the parties are unable to agree on alternative dates, the party asking that the event be rescheduled must contact the HRTO Registrar in writing by filing a Request for an Order During Proceedings (Form 10), copied to the other parties, and provide five alternative dates (or groups of dates if the event is scheduled for multiple days) that are within six weeks of the originally scheduled date(s). This must be done within 14 days of the date the Notice was issued.
If the request is granted and, after reasonable efforts, the HRTO is not able to find dates agreeable to the parties, the HRTO will set the dates for the event without the agreement of the parties.
If the HRTO denies or does not respond to a party's rescheduling request, all parties are expected to attend the day(s) of the event. The event will proceed as scheduled unless the HRTO notifies the parties that a request has been granted.
Any request to reschedule an event made more than 14 days after the Notice was issued is considered an adjournment request.
The HRTO recognizes that in certain compelling circumstances, an adjournment of an event may be necessary to ensure the fairness of the proceeding. Each adjournment request will be decided on its individual merits but generally, adjournment requests for expected and avoidable reasons are unlikely to be granted.
When requesting an adjournment, parties are expected to provide all the information they would like the HRTO to consider with their request. Where an adjournment request is denied by the HRTO, the HRTO will not consider subsequent requests that are made for the same reasons as the first request, or due to circumstances that would have been known at the time of the first request. The HRTO will only consider properly filed adjournment requests.
Where an adjournment is needed due to medical reasons, the requesting party must include information from a licensed medical professional supporting the reasons for the request. Parties are not required to include personal diagnostic details.
Parties may request the adjournment of an event by filing a Request for an Order During Proceedings (Form 10), copied to the other parties. The Form 10 must include the following information:
Incomplete adjournment requests will not be considered by the HRTO. A request is incomplete if the party:
Adjournment requests received less than seven days before the start of the scheduled event will not be granted unless there are exceptional circumstances.
A party may respond to an adjournment request by filing a Response to a Request for an Order (Form 11), copied to the other parties, within seven days of receiving the adjournment request.
For adjournment requests made less than seven days before the start of the scheduled event, the Tribunal may dismiss the request, set an expedited schedule for responding to the request, or consider the request at the start of the scheduled event.
The HRTO will only consider properly filed adjournment requests and will do so by applying the Factors Relevant to an Adjournment Request outlined below.
The HRTO expects the parties to be ready to proceed with a scheduled event. For example, the HRTO will rarely grant an adjournment request on the basis that (1) a party is not prepared for a scheduled event, (2) a party has recently retained new counsel where counsel could have been retained earlier, (3) a party wants to submit additional evidence not disclosed in accordance with the Rules or directions of the HRTO, or (4) the parties are in settlement discussions.
If the HRTO denies or does not respond to a party's adjournment request, all parties are expected to attend the day(s) of the event. The event will proceed as scheduled unless the HRTO notifies the parties that a request has been granted.
While each request is decided based on the specific facts of the case and no one factor is determinative, when deciding an adjournment request the HRTO may consider: