Case Management Conference Calls

This is general information only. This publication is not a substitute for a lawyer’s research, analysis and judgment, and is not legal advice about your situation.This information sheet is reliable as of the date of publication (July 2026). You should be aware that the law and procedures under the Human Rights Code (Code) and at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) are subject to change without notice.

Introduction

A case management conference call (CMCC) is a type of pre-hearing meeting between the HRTO and the parties. You and the respondent(s), as well as any other involved parties, must attend a CMCC if the HRTO schedules one. Any lawyers or paralegals representing the parties may also appear at the CMCC.

For more information about CMCCs, see the HRTO’s Practice Direction on Case Management Conference Calls.

When will a CMCC be scheduled?

In certain situations, the HRTO may schedule a CMCC before a hearing. The HRTO will issue a notice to the parties that will include information and directions about:

The date and time the CMCC will be held,
The method of communication that will be used for the CMCC (usually Zoom) and instructions on how to attend,
The issues to be dealt with at the CMCC, and
Any documents or other information which need to be shared with the parties ahead of the CMCC.

How do I prepare for my CMCC?

In many applications at the HRTO, there are various preliminary or procedural issues which get resolved well before the CMCC and hearing dates. Sometimes, however, there are preliminary issues that do not get resolved or cannot really be resolved before the CMCC.

The CMCC is intended to deal with any remaining preliminary or procedural issues between the parties. What issues are remaining will depend mostly on the facts of your case.

It is important to come to the CMCC as prepared as you can be. It will be necessary to bring all your relevant documents and materials to be able to fully discuss and present your position. It is helpful if these documents and materials are organized by date.

Because time is limited at the CMCC, it would also help to send copies of any documents or material that you plan to rely on to the respondent and the HRTO ahead of the date of CMCC.

What is the purpose of a CMCC?

The CMCC is not a formal HRTO hearing and no witnesses are required to attend. The HRTO will not hear any evidence, make any findings of fact, and will not make any decision about the merits of the HRTO application, (e.g., whether you or the respondent(s) should be successful at the hearing). A CMCC is chaired by the same HRTO adjudicator (a legal decision maker) that will be assigned to your hearing.

The CMCC has several purposes for the parties. One purpose is to explore the possibility for any potential settlement of part of, or your whole application. The applicant and respondents may wish to discuss the potential for mediation – that is, negotiating an agreed upon resolution instead of going to a hearing.

A second purpose of a CMCC is to help the parties involved prepare for a hearing by trying to resolve some of the issues raised in a case. An HRTO hearing might be shorter and simpler if some of the issues the HRTO needs to decide in your matter have already been resolved at the CMCC.

An HRTO adjudicator will discuss with the parties any outstanding issues requiring the HRTO’s involvement and may encourage the parties to make admissions and reach agreements on various issues. An HRTO adjudicator may also establish schedules and deadlines for the parties to provide the HRTO with information.

A third purpose of the CMCC is to help the parties to better organize their arguments, evidence, and issues at the hearing. Again, this would help reduce the time and resources required for the hearing itself. An HRTO adjudicator may also point out strengths or weaknesses of each party’s evidence or provide guidance about the Human Rights Code provisions or how common law might apply to the case.

The HRTO adjudicator may make verbal rulings on any of the issues raised at the CMCC, and/or may issue written rulings on these issues without detailed reasons.

What preliminary issues may be raised at a CMCC?

The CMCC process may involve any of the following preliminary issues and many of these issues relate to the evidence that the parties may be intending to use at their hearing, including:

identifying documents and witnesses that will be used at the hearing;
objections to (or concerns raised about) hearing documents or witnesses;
requests for proper or more specific witness statements; and
other preliminary or procedural issues that arise out of the witness statements, hearing documents, or that relate to the conduct of the hearing.

In addition, the HRTO adjudicator and the parties will likely discuss in detail how the hearing will proceed, including such procedural issues as:

the order in which witnesses will testify;
a schedule for witness testimony and/or time limits for questioning witnesses;
whether opening statements are required;
clarifying of the issues to be addressed at the hearing;
marking undisputed documents as exhibits at the beginning of the hearing;
the adoption of witness statements as all or part of a witness’ evidence in chief;
whether the parties can agree on any facts;
determining the hearing type, if required, and estimate the duration;
deciding the number of hearing days required and schedule the days; and
directing how the hearing will be organized and any other steps that must occur before the hearing.

There may be other preliminary issues as well, depending on the nature of the case. For example, a party may have Code-related accommodation needs or there may be other, new developments in the case that require being raised and addressed at the CMCC.

It is very important to identify and raise all the preliminary issues that you have at the CMCC and to be prepared to address any issues that the HRTO may raise.

If a preliminary or procedural issue could have been raised by a party at the CMCC but was not, the HRTO adjudicator may not allow that party to raise the issue at a later time or at the hearing.

Should I wait until the CMCC to bring forward my preliminary issues?

No. You should always try to identify and raise any preliminary issues before the HRTO as soon as possible. You should not wait until the CMCC is scheduled.

The HRTO Rules of Procedure provide a way to raise many types of preliminary issues under Rule 19. At any time after an application has been filed with the HRTO, you may complete a Request for an Order During Proceedings (Form 10).

At the earliest opportunity, you should make a Request for Order during Proceedings (Form 10) to bring your preliminary issues to the attention of the HRTO including requests:

to add a respondent or another party;
to defer your HRTO application pending the completion of another legal proceeding;
to consolidate or have applications heard together;
to amend your application;
to re-activate a deferred application;
for particulars; or
for production or disclosure of documents.

Can I re-schedule my CMCC?

The process and deadlines for requesting re-scheduling are set out in the HRTO’s Notice of CMCC. You must act quickly – within fourteen (14) days of the date of the Notice of CMCC – to arrange for rescheduling.

Where a timely request is made to re-schedule the CMCC, the HRTO will try to re-schedule the CMCC taking into consideration the availability of the assigned adjudicator and the parties and the scheduled hearing date.

After the fourteen (14) days expires, the CMCC and/or hearing will be re-scheduled only in exceptional circumstances. Rescheduling in this case requires approval by the HRTO Registrar, even if you and the respondent have already agreed to re-schedule.

Note: Retaining a representative (such as a lawyer) who is not available or ready to proceed on the scheduled date is not considered an exceptional circumstance by the HRTO.

You should also review the HRTO’s Practice Direction on Rescheduling and Adjournment Requests for more important information about re-scheduling dates at the HRTO.

How do I re-schedule my CMCC?

You must contact the other parties and inform the HRTO Registrar. Your request must be submitted in writing. You must provide the HRTO with five (5) mutually agreeable dates with the other parties that are within six weeks of the originally scheduled date for the CMCC.

You should be aware, however, that the dates you and the other parties have agreed upon may not be dates that are available for the HRTO.

If the agreed upon dates are unavailable or no information is provided about new dates, the HRTO will re-schedule to the next available date for the HRTO.

Finally, it is important to know that if you need to re-schedule more than once, the re-scheduling of subsequent dates is not subject to the fourteen (14) day practice. In that case, rescheduling will only be granted by the HRTO in exceptional circumstances.

What if I require accommodation at the CMCC?

The HRTO conducts all CMCC by teleconference and/or videoconference unless it approves a request for an accommodation-based change in the CMCC hearing format. A request for accommodation will be considered by the HRTO when a request for a format change is made.

The HRTO’s Updated Practice Direction on Hearing Formats sets out the relevant procedure to be followed.

In addition, accommodation requests should be made in accordance with the HRTO’s Accommodation Policy.

What if I have settled my case before the CMCC?

If you have reached a written and signed settlement of your HRTO application before the CMCC (that is, an agreed upon resolution between you and the respondent), the CMCC will not be cancelled until there is a signed Confirmation of Settlement (Form 25) filed at the HRTO.

Note that the written and signed settlement itself should not be filed at the HRTO. More information about the steps to take after reaching a settlement, see the HRTO’s Practice Direction on Mandatory Mediation.

What if I fail to attend my CMCC?

It is very important to attend the CMCC after receiving proper notice from the HRTO. A CMCC is not optional, even if the CMCC is scheduled merely to set hearing dates. If you do not attend your hearing and/or the CMCC, the HRTO may proceed in a party’s absence (if a respondent or intervener) or decide to dismiss your application as abandoned (if an applicant).

This means that you should make every effort to attend your CMCC. It can be very difficult to reinstate your HRTO application when the HRTO has decided to dismiss your application as abandoned.