Canada ( Human Rights Commission ) v. Canada ( Department of National Health and Welfare )
T-792-96
Richard J.
6/4/98
9 pp.
Judicial review of Canadian Human Rights Tribunal's dismissal of complaint alleging respondent guilty of discriminatory practice on basis of race, colour, and/or national or ethnic origin, contrary to Canadian Human Rights Act, s. 7-Applicant, Canadian Human Rights Commission, attempting to lead circumstantial evidence showing visible minorities not represented according to availability at certain levels-Not presented to show systemic discrimination, but in support of individual complaint-Tribunal determining applicant prohibited from adducing any evidence in attempt to illustrate pattern of systemic discrimination because prejudicial to respondent, allowing applicant to advance prohibited claim-No evidence of actual prejudice to respondent-Tribunal's decision set aside-Where direct evidence of illegal behaviour unavailable, discrimination may be established by way of inference, through use of circumstantial evidence-Circumstantial evidence usually depending on series of facts, each of which alone insufficient to permit inference of discrimination, but when combined may justify it: Vizkelety, B. Proving Discrimination in Canada, Toronto: Carswell (1987)-Statistics representing form of circumstantial evidence from which inferences of discriminatory conduct may be drawn-Tribunal erred in disallowing applicants from adducing general evidence of systemic problem as circumstantial evidence to infer discrimination probably occurred in particular case as well-Matter remitted to Tribunal to be determined on basis of record before Tribunal augmented by statistical evidence sought to be introduced by applicants and by any responding material introduced by respondent.