Early Dismissal of Applications by HRTO Critiqued by Ontario’s Divisional Court

In this podcast, Kathryn Bird (Toronto), Erin Schachter (Montréal), and Shir Fulga (Toronto) examine the Ontario Divisional Court’s 2025 decision in Bokhari v. Top Medical Transport Center Services, which reviewed the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario’s preliminary dismissal of a disability discrimination claim. The discussion focuses on the tribunal’s use of a “balance of probabilities” standard at the screening stage, the court’s rejection of that approach in favor of the traditional “plain and obvious” test, and the risks of engaging in a merits analysis too early. The speakers also explore why the decision matters for both applicants and employers, particularly given increasing preliminary dismissals, tribunal backlogs, and the potential for unexpected judicial review proceedings.