Legislation and regulations

The HRTO is established under the Human Rights Code. Applications claiming discrimination or harassment contrary to the Human Rights Code may be filed with the HRTO. The opportunity to mediate disputes is offered to all parties.

The Statutory Powers Procedure Act provides a general framework for the conduct of hearings before Ontario’s administrative tribunals.

Regulation 290/98 under the Human Rights Code describes business practices landlords can use to select prospective residential tenants. Tariff A of the Rules of Civil Procedure sets the fees which must be paid when summoning a witness.

Prejudgment and postjudgment interest rates are governed by s. 127 of the Courts of Justice Act. If an adjudicator orders someone to pay you money and orders either prejudgment or postjudgment on that money, these tables helps you calculate any interest you are owed.

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Rules

There are two parts to the rules that govern the procedures of the HRTO.

Part I is the SJTO Common Rules and Part II is HRTO Rules of Procedure . Both parts should be read together.

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Practice directions

Practice directions support the rules of procedure and provide guidance about what the HRTO expects of the parties and what the parties can expect of the HRTO. They help parties to understand the rules.

• Practice Direction on Jurisdiction
• Practice Direction on Hearing Formats
• Practice Direction on Representation before Social Justice Tribunals Ontario
• Practice Direction on Litigation Guardians before Social Justice Tribunals Ontario
• Practice Direction on New Case Processing System and Case Management Conference Calls
• Practice Direction on Establishing a Regular Contact Person for an Organization
• Practice Direction on Filing Applications on Behalf of Another Person
• Practice Direction on Communicating with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario
• Practice Direction on Electronic Filing by Licensed Representatives
• Practice Direction on Hearings
• Practice Direction on Naming Respondents
• Practice Direction on Reconsideration
• Practice Direction on Recording Hearings
• Practice Direction on Requests for Language Interpretation
• Practice Direction on Requests to Expedite an Application and Requests for an Interim Remedy
• Practice Direction on Scheduling of Hearings and Mediations, Rescheduling Requests, and Requests for Adjournments
• Practice Direction on Summary Hearing Requests
• Practice Direction on Intervention by a Bargaining Agent and Form 28
• Practice Direction on Anonymization of HRTO Decisions

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Decisions

To read decisions of the HRTO, visit the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII). CanLII is a non-profit organization that makes Canadian law accessible for free on the Internet.

Before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario was established, decisions under the Human Rights Code were made by Boards of Inquiry. Those decisions, issued from 1963–2002, can be accessed online.

For process-related information about decisions, including what to do if you disagree with your HRTO decision, see Application and hearing process.