(Gender and race)
Ms. Chuvalo was terminated by the Toronto Police Service after she made an official complaint about harassment by her supervisor based on gender, ethnic/place of origin and ancestry.
The Tribunal concluded that Ms. Chuvalo had been harassed based on gender as well as ethnic/place of origin and ancestry. The Tribunal found that her supervisor “took an active and possessive interest in her… and then when she failed to reciprocate that interest, he expressed hostility (both overt and subtle) towards her.” The Tribunal found that this hostility included calling her a “bimbo” and negative remarks about her ethnic background and her English language proficiency. The Tribunal further found that his “behaviour stripped her of her dignity as a woman, served to isolate her within the unit and made going into work very stressful.”
The decision also held that the internal investigation of her harassment complaint was not properly conducted.
The Tribunal ordered:
- $20,000 to the Applicant as compensation for loss of the right to be free from discrimination
- The Toronto Police Services to retain the services of an external human rights expert to develop training material for the investigation of harassment, discrimination and reprisal complaints by its Professional Standards Unit
- The Toronto Police Services to conduct training of investigation personnel within four months of the date of the decision.
To read the full decision, visit CanLII