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Sangha v. Lyft Canada Inc., 2026 HRTO 1139

The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) has overturned a previous decision, allowing Lyft driver Gurjot Sangha to continue his case alleging creed-based discrimination against Lyft Canada. Sangha alleges he was deactivated as a driver following customer complaints about him wearing a kirpan — a ceremonial dagger worn as a mandatory religious article by Sikhs that has been the subject of previous Supreme Court cases including Multani v. Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys.

Sangha’s application was originally dismissed by the HRTO, with the adjudicator finding that the application was outside the HRTO’s jurisdiction because none of the Human Rights Code’s five social areas applied, including with respect to employment. The HRTO then dismissed Sangha’s request for reconsideration: Sangha v. Lyft Canada Inc., 2025 HRTO 2648.

The Human Rights Legal Support Centre (HRLSC) applied for judicial review of Sangha’s case. The HRTO then initiated its own second reconsideration hearing, and confirmed that previous HRTO decisions found “with respect to employment” under section 5 of the Code had been defined broadly, including positions such as temporary, part-time, casual, contract employees, independent contractors, domestic workers and volunteers.

The HRTO found, in its second reconsideration decision, that whether an organization and a worker are within an employment relationship under the Code requires a fact- and context-specific analysis that was not done in the original HRTO decision.

The HRTO ordered:

• that the original decision and first reconsideration decision be rescinded; and
• that the parties could proceed to a mediation hearing at the HRTO as they had already agreed to participate in mediation.