The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario has dismissed applications brought against the Town of Whitby and four other respondents, ruling that the claims fell outside the Tribunal's jurisdiction.
According to a Town of Whitby news release, the Tribunal dismissed the applications on September 28, 2026. They had been filed by Christopher Leahy and Stephen Yamada against the Corporation of the Town of Whitby, Principles Integrity, Elizabeth Roy, Rhonda Mulcahy and Niki Lundquist.
In its decision, the Tribunal concluded the applications "have no reasonable prospect of success" because "the events and allegations set out in the Applications did not occur within any of the social areas dealt with by the Code." Both applications were dismissed.
The Ontario Human Rights Code covers specific social areas such as employment, housing and services. Claims arising outside those areas cannot proceed before the Tribunal.
Before the ruling, lawyers for the respondents had urged the applicants to withdraw their claims. The news release states the respondents pointed out that previous independent investigations had found no evidence of discrimination, and that established Human Rights Tribunal case law indicated the applications fell outside the Tribunal's jurisdiction.
The Town has incurred approximately $53,682 in external legal costs responding to the applications, according to the release. It says final costs will be determined once all related administrative and legal matters are concluded.
The decision means the Town and the other named respondents are no longer facing the human rights claims.
