Navigating entangled terrain: The Supreme Court's impact and the dismissal powers of human rights tribunals

Abstract

The human rights justice system is a politically and legally complex area to navigate with legislative changes and judicial decisions shaping the administration and governance of human rights policies. This article provides a comprehensive examination of the complexities and intricacies of this system by measuring the impact of judicial rulings on the discretionary decision‐making of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal (HRTO). The impact of the Supreme Court of Canada's relevant jurisprudence in Figliola and Penner on the HRTO's discretionary powers to dismiss claims pursuant to section 45.1 of the Ontario Human Rights Code is measured by examining the outcomes of decisions made by the Tribunal. The article presents new empirical data on all early dismissal decisions (N = 1479) from 2008 to 2021 and demonstrates the effects of the Supreme Court's rulings in Figliola and Penner. The findings in this article reveal that both Figliola and Penner had significant impacts on the Tribunal's discretionary decision‐making powers.