They Also Erred--part 2

When I went to the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal, I didn't know how to present my case for sexual harassment or discrimination properly.  I didn't fill out the application forms correctly and I didn't know exactly how the law applied to my case.  My instincts told me I was being harassed--one way or another--but I didn't know how to make the case legally.  [And you have to have more than your instincts as evidence!]  It was only later that I went to the Ontario Human Rights Commission and got some help from them and from a free lawyer.  I would've gotten better help from the OHRC, which normally handled these kinds of cases, but I didn't know enough at the time.  Also, the OHRC took such a long time investigating their cases that it would've been stressful for me in the meantime.  [It's a long story about everything and I have a limited amount of time on the Internet.]  But to be fair, I'll say that I could've done better in my presentation to the ORHT--if I'd known how.

They Also Erred

When I began writing about the past landlord/tenant matter in 2009 in this blog, I didn't mention that the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal had also made a mistake in their decisions during my hearing in 1998.  There was a serious error according to human rights law and it made a difference to my case.  If this kind of error had been made in a regular court, I believe it would've been grounds for an appeal.  But because of the processes of the Housing Tribunal and because the Ontario Human Rights Code wasn't prosecuted in the regular courts, there wasn't a possibility of an appeal for the above reason.  There was actually no final decision imposed by the Tribunal because my landlady and I were encouraged to make a settlement between us, which we did.  But you never know what might've been different if the Tribunal hadn't erred!  Anyway, I wanted to point out that I wasn't the only one who made a mistake.

It Hasn't Been Easy

Even if I've had some positive experiences since my landlord/tenant matter happened, I don't mean to say it's been easy!  It sure hasn't been--and that's an understatement!  I would've needed to have not just a lawyer at my hearing but one who was knowledgeable about human rights.  It certainly would've helped!  But I didn't know how to find one at the time and also I was on a low income.  [Sometimes the lawyers accept Legal Aid and sometimes not.]  It had been announced in the news in 1998 that clients didn't need to have lawyers to go before the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal; and I had thought that for once I'd try to do something myself.  I had been on social assistance for a time and it seemed like I'd already had help from a lot of places.  But I sought whatever free legal advice was available outside of the hearings. And I did receive some good counsel [at different times] but it was a very complicated case--in spite of the fact that the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal had a simplified system.  [The Ontario Human Rights Commission would've taken a number of years to handle my case.]  I had no human rights advice until some time after my hearing had been held. 

I Was Partially Incorrect

Continuing from the very first blog post, and the notes added on January 8 and January 24, 2013:  The way that my politically-incorrect comments came across was a little more serious than I realized.  Basically what happened was that I called my landlady gay without her permission to do so.--And it also seemed that I was being nosy and/or accusing her for being gay.  But as I've indicated, I wasn't saying what I really meant to say.  There was more to the story--and the law--than what I was able to express adequately at the hearing.  Also, it's possible my landlady wasn't guilty of sexual harassment but that she discriminated against me on the basis of my sexual orientation which was different from hers.  I was straight and she was gay.  And that's not the way we usually hear of discrimination cases going--usually it's straight people discriminating against the minority which are gay.  But the reverse is also possible; and maybe that's why my case has been so complicated!  [Have been discussing this matter with my official sources and we're continuing.--We're not quite done yet.]  Will update my blog further when I have time.--Don't have internet service at home and am limited to use at the libraries.  [I also have to spend time with my official writing which goes out to my sources.] ******  A past prime minister of Canada, Pierre Trudeau, had made a comment something like, "The government has no business in the bedrooms of the nation."  And I believe it was a valid point.  An argument like this was made at my hearing and if we had stopped there, the case might've been different!  And I really want to emphasize that I don't disagree with this idea.  But my case went a lot further and maybe we'll get to a conclusion yet--as far as discussing the matter goes.  [Have stated I'm not trying to prosecute my landlady any longer.]