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Office of the Chief Commissioner The Office of the Chief Commissioner provides leadership and guides the Commission in carrying out its statutory functions in a way that ensures that, at both the government and community levels, human rights are protected in the province. The Chief Commissioner and Commissioners set policy direction and make decisions about complaints relating to the Code.

List of Commissioners KEITH C. NORTON, Q.C., B.A., LL.B. Chief Commissioner Keith Norton was appointed Chief Commissioner of the Commission on July 18, 1996. He is an educator and a lawyer by training, having studied law at Queen’s University in Kingston, as well as having received a diploma in education from the Ontario College of Education. He practiced criminal and family law in Kingston, Ontario, and taught at the secondary and post-secondary levels.

The Commission has presented an Accountability Framework in each of the last four annual reports.  The framework establishes targets for the organization’s performance in the coming year and reports on achievements against previously established targets.

On October 31, 2001, Andrea Broadley was appointed Executive Director of the Commission.  The Office of the Executive Director is responsible for directing the business operations of the Commission and acts as the administrative link with the Government through the Ministry of Citizenship’s Deputy Minister’s Office.  One of its key functions is to set the strategic direction of the Commission through the development of long-term goals, annual business plans, approval of budgets and staff objectives.

Inquiry and Intake Services The Inquiry and Intake Office is the first point of contact for members of the public calling for information on filing a human rights complaint.  Through the Inquiry and Intake Office, callers receive basic information on the complaint process, how to file a complaint and other information about the human rights process.

During the 2001-2002 fiscal year, the Legal Services Branch received the following:  6 Board of Inquiry decisions, 30 Board of Inquiry Settlements, 6 judicial review decisions, 10 appeal decisions and one Supreme Court of Canada decision. At the end of the 2001-2002 fiscal year, the ongoing litigation in the Legal Services Branch comprised of: 87 Board of Inquiry files, 14 judicial reviews, 8 appeals and one case at the Supreme Court of Canada. The following are highlights of some of the significant decisions and cases over the past year.

Policy Development

I am pleased to report on the work of the Ontario Human Rights Commission for the April 1, 2001 to March 31, 2002 fiscal year. 

2002-2003 Actual Year-End financial Position ($’000)           2002-03 Year-End Variance  

Decisions Ancestry McKinnon v. Ministry of Correctional Services et al. Payne v. Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. et al. Citizenship Ahmed v. Shelter Canadian Properties Ltd. et al. Colour Forde v. Artisan Screen Print Ltd. et al. Payne v. Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. et al. Creed Forde v. Artisan Screen Print Ltd. et al. Disability

Aboriginal Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres

  List of Publications Publications Ontario Web Site

Office of the Chief Commissioner The Office of the Chief Commissioner provides leadership and guides the Commission in carrying out its statutory functions in a way that ensures that, at both the government and community levels, human rights are protected in the province. The Chief Commissioner and Commissioners set policy direction and make decisions about complaints relating to the Code.

List of Commissioners KEITH C. NORTON, Q.C., B.A., LL.B. Chief Commissioner Keith Norton was appointed Chief Commissioner of the Commission on July 18, 1996. He is an educator and a lawyer by training, having studied law at Queen’s University in Kingston, as well as having received a diploma in education from the Ontario College of Education. He practiced criminal and family law in Kingston, Ontario, and taught at the secondary and post-secondary levels.

The Commission has presented an Accountability Framework in each of the last five annual reports.  The framework establishes targets for the organization’s performance in the coming year and reports on achievements against previously established targets. The following is a summary of achievements against 2002-2003 fiscal year targets. 

The Office of the Executive Director  (EDO) is responsible for directing the business operations of the Commission and acts as the administrative link with the Government through the Ministry of Citizenship’s Deputy Minister’s Office.  One of its key functions is to set the strategic direction of the Commission through the development of long-term goals, annual business plans, approval of budgets and staff objectives.

During the 2002-2003 fiscal year, the Legal Services Branch was involved in the following resolutions: 13 Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario decisions, 37 settlements, 5 judicial review decisions, 4 appeal decisions, and one Supreme Court of Canada decision. At the end of the fiscal year, the ongoing litigation in the Legal Services Branch comprised: 80 Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario files, 14 judicial reviews, 5 appeals, and one case at the Supreme Court of Canada. 

Policy Development

The Mediation and Investigation Branch, of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, is the largest branch within the Commission with approximately 85 full-time employees located across the province, the majority are based in the Commission’s Toronto office. The Mediation and Investigation Branch has primary responsibility for the Commission’s mandate to ensure compliance with the Ontario Human Rights Code.  It is composed of four offices: the Office of the Director, the Inquiry and Intake Office, the Mediation Office and the Investigation Office.

Message from the Chief Commissioner I am pleased to report on the work of the Ontario Human Rights Commission for the April 1, 2002 to March 31, 2003 fiscal year.  This year, the Commission opened 1,776 cases and closed 1,954 cases.  The active caseload, as at March 31, 2003 was 2,137 cases. The average age of the Commission’s active caseload was 11.5 months, which indicates that the Commission continues to maintain a current caseload, (one that is 12 months or less). The Commission referred 58 human rights complaints to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.

The Human Rights Code says employers must not use application forms or ask questions of job applicants, which directly or indirectly ask them to give information about a “ground of discrimination”.  For example, asking for information about a driver’s licence, when it may not be an essential duty of the job, may prevent or discourage someone from applying for a job - such as a person with a disability who is limited in their ability to drive.  Also, asking a job ap