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In 2011, four individuals and the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation filed an application against the Attorney General of Canada and the Attorney General of Ontario. The application alleged that Canada and Ontario have violated their rights under sections 7 and 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by creating and maintaining conditions that lead to and sustain homelessness and inadequate housing.
The Attorneys General filed a motion to strike (a request that the court not hear the case on its merits because it has no reasonable prospect of success) and were successful. The applicants filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal, asking that the decision striking their claim be reversed.
The Ontario Human Rights Commission, along with seven other groups, filed motions for leave to intervene in the appeal. The OHRC argued that we could assist the court in its interpretation of section 15 of the Charter, with regard to intersecting grounds, contextual factors, and adverse effects giving rise to discrimination.
Leave to intervene was granted and the case is scheduled to be heard on May 26 and 27, 2014.