Where do I file a complaint about discrimination in Ontario?

It depends on who is responsible and what you want to happen. A human rights application to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario is free and carries no costs risk, and is the only route where discrimination is itself the legal wrong. A civil claim can order more, including punitive damages the Tribunal cannot award, but costs follow the event. Complaints to an oversight body or regulator can produce discipline and a record but cannot award you money.

Can I complain to more than one place at once?

Sometimes, but not always. Section 34(11) of the Ontario Human Rights Code bars making a Tribunal application where a civil proceeding seeking section 46.1 relief on the same alleged infringement is on foot and has not been withdrawn or finally determined. A police oversight complaint, by contrast, does not bar a Tribunal application, and the deadlines run separately.

Is there a free tool to help choose where to file in Ontario?

Yes. This page provides a free route finder that shortlists routes based on the kind of situation, who is responsible, and what outcome you want. It stores nothing and takes about a minute. It cannot see your dates or prior filings, so the result is a shortlist to discuss with a lawyer, paralegal or legal clinic.

Where Do I File My Complaint? Free Ontario Legal Route Finder

Where should I file my complaint in Ontario?

Answer three questions and this tool shortlists the routes that fit — human rights application, oversight complaint, civil claim, Charter damages, union grievance, Employment Standards, WSIB, or a professional regulator. It also tells you what no route on your shortlist can give you, which is usually the more useful half.

It is free, nothing is saved, and it takes about a minute. It cannot see your dates or anything you have already filed, so treat the result as a shortlist to take to a person.

The route finder

Three questions. The result is a shortlist to take to a person, not an answer — it cannot see your facts, your dates, or anything already filed in your matter.

Question 1

What kind of situation is it?Choose the closest

Question 2

Who is responsible?The organisation or person

Question 3

What do you want to happen?Choose as many as apply

Answer above and a shortlist appears here.

Every route, and what each can actually order

The three doors above are the ones that reach the Court of Appeal. In practice a person has more than three options, and they differ less in subject-matter than in what they are able to order at the end. This is the full comparison.

Available Limited or conditional Not available

Route	Money for dignity	Lost wages	Punitive damages	Policy or training	Discipline of a person	Free to use	Costs risk against you
Human Rights TribunalOntario Human Rights Code
Civil — Code damagess. 46.1, needs another cause of action
Civil — Charter damagesGovernment and state actors only
Civil — tortsBattery, false imprisonment, negligence
Class proceedingAggregates many people's claims
Police oversight complaintProvincial complaints body
Criminal processPolice and Crown control it
Union grievanceUnionised workplaces
Employment StandardsMinistry of Labour
Workplace injury (WSIB)Removes the right to sue, usually
Professional regulatorCollege or licensing body

The two columns nobody weighs until it is too late are the last two. The Tribunal is free and carries no costs risk, which is precisely why it absorbs almost every claim — including many that would be worth more elsewhere. Reported Section 45.2 of the Code contains no punitive damages power; the Tribunal compensates, it does not punish.

How to read the result

The shortlist is scored on three things only: the kind of situation, who is responsible, and what you want to happen. That is enough to rule routes in and out, and not enough to choose between them.

The two questions the tool cannot answer

Has a deadline passed? The human rights limit is one year. Oversight complaint deadlines are much shorter. Grievance deadlines can be days.
Have you already filed something? Some filings restrict others — see which doors close which.

If two routes both fit, the deciding factor is usually cost and risk rather than subject matter. A human rights application is free and carries no costs against you if you lose. A civil claim can order far more, including punitive damages the Tribunal cannot award — but costs follow the event in both directions.

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