As a result of the Transitional Provisions of Bill 107, now the Human Rights Code Amendment Act, 2006, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has released its new Rules of Practice, which are in effect as of January 31, 2008, and govern the Tribunal's process for all complaints that have been or will be referred to the Tribunal by the Ontario Human Rights Commission. (For a detailed review of the transitional and pending changes to the human rights complaint process under Bill 107, see Labour Notes Issues No. 1306, 1323, and 1339, dated May 15, 2006, January 29, 2007, and September 24, 2007, respectively.) On January 1, 2009, the Commission will no longer have the statutory authority to refer complaints to the Tribunal. These Rules will continue to apply to all complaints referred by the Commission prior to that date, subject to modifications that may be required by virtue of Part VI of the Amendment Act, 2006. All previous Rules of Practice are revoked as of January 31, 2008. A copy of the new Rules can be accessed online at www.hrto.ca/english/rules/2008rules.doc.

These Rules will not apply to applications filed directly with the Tribunal under the amended Code, which takes effect on June 30, 2008. For those applications, the Tribunal has released draft Rules of Practice to govern applications filed at the Tribunal under the new Code provisions, including applications filed directly by the Commission. Pursuant to its obligations under the legislation, the Tribunal is holding public consultations before adopting these new procedural Rules. A copy of these draft Rules can be accessed online at www.hrto.ca/english/rules/SteadyStateRules.doc. Interested parties are invited to provide written submissions to the Tribunal by mail, facsimile, or e-mail under the heading "Public Consultation—Proposed Rules of Procedure" to:

Human Rights Tribunal of OntarioAttn: Christine Dion, Office of the Chair400 University Avenue, 7th Floor, Toronto, ON M7A 1T7fax: (416) 212-5638; e-mail: Christine.Dion@ontario.ca.

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