WORKER AWARDED $32,000 BY HRTO AFTER TWO MONTHS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT

WORKER AWARDED $32,000 BY HRTO AFTER TWO MONTHS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT

TORONTO, ONT – A Fergus woman employed as a tour guide was awarded over $32,000 after enduring two months of sexual harassment at the hands of the owner and other staff while working for an adventure tourism company in the Muskoka and Haliburton regions. The Human Rights Legal Support Centre represented the applicant in her successful human rights application against Back Country Tours and its owner, Dudley Hookong.

Applicant hired as an independent contractor:

Hookong, who is also the personal respondent in the case of Cloutier v. Back Country Tours Inc., 2025 HRTO 2867, hired Chelsea Cloutier as an independent contractor who would report directly to him. From the beginning of this employment, the HRTO heard that Hookong acted inappropriately, with a pattern of controlling and inappropriate behaviour emerging, making Cloutier feel “uncomfortable, manipulated, belittled, objectified, sexually harassed, anxious and unsafe.”

Escalating behaviour:

This behaviour escalated to include attempts by Hookong to make Cloutier drink alcohol, sexually solicit her, and forcing her to spend a night with him in a single bed during a business trip. Hookong also ignored his obligation to address Cloutier’s complaints about other staff members’ sexually inappropriate comments and advances made towards her. After two months of this treatment, Cloutier resigned from Back Country Tours.

“This case puts predatory employers on notice that a poisoned work environment where a culture of sexual harassment and discrimination against women is nurtured is unacceptable,” said Jamie McGinnis, legal counsel at the HRLSC. “Our client is relieved to close this chapter and hopes her experience shows others that human rights protections are available to challenge the conduct of abusive employers and that women can and should assert those rights.”

HRTO ruling:

The HRTO found that as the sole owner of Back Country Tours, Hookong and the company were “jointly and severally liable for subjecting [Cloutier] to a poisoned work environment, sexual harassment, and sexual solicitation or advances.”

The Tribunal ordered:

• $32,500 compensation for injury to dignity, feelings, and self-respect.

By the time of the HRTO hearing, Hookong had passed away, but his estate was named in the human rights application in response to his actions.

About the HRLSC:

The Human Rights Legal Support Centre (HRLSC) advances equality and protects human rights by providing free legal advice and support services to individuals who have faced discrimination or harassment contrary to Ontario’s Human Rights Code. The HRLSC was established in 2008 as one of three pillars of Ontario’s human rights system, and is an independent, board-governed agency funded by the Government of Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General. The other two pillars are the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and the Ontario Human Rights Commission.