What does deemed abandoned mean at the HRTO?

It means the Tribunal has closed your file because you stopped responding to it — to a direction, a notice, or a scheduling letter. It is not a ruling on whether discrimination occurred. In the 344 Ontario corrections matters we traced, 28.8% ended this way.

What is a Notice of Intent to Dismiss?

A letter stating that the Tribunal is considering dismissing your application, with a short window to respond. It is not a decision. Not responding is generally treated as agreement, so the response window is the point at which the outcome is still open.

Can you appeal an HRTO decision?

There is no appeal from the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. The internal route is a request for reconsideration by the Tribunal itself, and the external route is judicial review to the Divisional Court, which asks whether the decision was reasonable rather than whether it was right.

Can the HRTO award punitive damages?

No. Section 45.2 of the Ontario Human Rights Code empowers the Tribunal to order monetary compensation for loss, including compensation for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect, and non-monetary restitution. It contains no punitive damages power.

HRTO Glossary: Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario Terms Explained

What do HRTO terms mean?

A letter arrives using six terms nobody explained, and the deadline is in the second paragraph. This page defines every term you are likely to meet, in plain language, and flags the ones that end cases rather than merely describe them.

Search below, or filter by category. Terms marked in orange are the ones that close files.

← Every stage, in order What the Code protects →