Jan 2019 Charity & NFP Law Update
On October 26, 2018, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (the “Tribunal”), in Rivard v Essex (County), dismissed an application alleging that a denial of coverage under an employer’s benefit plan for medical cannabis expenses was a breach of the Ontario Human Rights Code (“Code”) on grounds of discrimination on the basis of disability. In finding that the application should be dismissed on the basis that there was no reasonable prospect of success, the Tribunal clarified that the denial of coverage must be connected to the disability in order to potentially constitute a violation of protected rights under the Code. As the denial of medical cannabis coverage was not due to the applicant’s disability but rather the terms of the benefit plan, such denial was not discriminatory under the Code.
For the balance of this Bulletin, please see Charity & NFP Law Bulletin No. 440.