In A.B. v. Mad Wax Windsor Inc., 2024 HRTO 721, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) upheld the application of an HRLSC client, an Indigenous transgender woman, who alleged the respondent salon denied her leg waxing services because of her gender identity. In addition to finding that the denial of service was discriminatory, the HRTO also found that the owner of the salon, named as a personal respondent in the HRTO application, had violated the Human Rights Code through his subsequent attempts to contact the media about his interaction with the applicant. In comments made to media as well as a press release he issued, the personal respondent misgendered the applicant, made disparaging comments related to her gender identity and disclosed both the applicant’s full name and contact information as well as the name of her employer. The HRTO found that these actions constituted reprisal, as they were intentional acts of retaliation against the applicant for attempting to assert her rights under the Code.
Given the serious impact that the respondents’ conduct had on the applicant, the HRTO awarded the applicant $35,000 in general damages. The HRTO also ordered that the personal respondent and all his employees must complete the OHRC’s Human Rights 101 eLearning module.
The respondent has filed a Notice of Application for Judicial Review, and it is anticipated that this matter will be considered by the Divisional Court sometime in 2025.