KPA Lawyers – April 17, 2019

It should come as no surprise that since Ontario’s Human Rights Tribunal lacks the authority to financially penalize frivolous lawsuits, it will, at some point, experience frivolous lawsuits (perhaps more frequently than many people would like to admit).

It should also be noted that neither KPA Lawyers nor any of our employees had anything to do with this case.

In a bizarre case of alleged “discrimination with respect to goods, services and facilities because of disability”, the Applicant filed an Application against the Toronto Bail Program under section 34 of the Human Rights Code.

The basis for the lawsuit? The Applicant alleges that he was told “not to ever drink coffee because it bad (sic) for mental health”.

Specifically, the Applicant stated that someone told him that he is not a normal person and should perhaps not even drink coffee because it was too much for him to handle.

He stated that the Respondent “lacked empathy, sympathy, competence and consistency in dealing with a diverse clientele”.

The Tribunal held that, “The applicant provided no context or particulars for this comment. This comment was clearly unwelcome to the Applicant, but he provided no information that indicates that the comment was related to a disability or a perceived disability… In these circumstances, I find that it is plain and obvious that the Applicant’s allegations do not amount to a violation of the Code.”