Peavoy v. Royal Bank of Canada, 2003 FCT 631

Date: 20030520

Docket: T-287-01

                                                                                                                            Citation: 2003 FCT 631

Ottawa, Ontario, this 20^th day of May, 2003

Present:           The Honourable Madam Justice Sandra J. Simpson

BETWEEN:

                                                                VELVET A. PEAVOY

                                                                                                                                                       Applicant

                                                                                 and

                                                         ROYAL BANK OF CANADA

                                                                                                                                                   Respondent

                                                            REASONS AND ORDER

UPON Velvet A. Peavoy's (the "Applicant") application for judicial review of a decision dated January 15, 2001 (the "Decision") in which the Canadian Human Rights Commission (the "Commission") dismissed her complaint dated May 17, 1999 (the "Complaint") against the Royal Bank of Canada (the "Bank") because, pursuant to subsection 44(3)(b)(i) of the Canadian Human Rights Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. H-6 (the "Act") it concluded that an inquiry was not warranted since the evidence did not support her claim that she received discriminatory treatment because she suffered from depression;

AND UPON reviewing the file and hearing the submissions of counsel for both parties in Toronto on Tuesday, April 29, 2002;

AND UPON determining that the Decision was based on a ten-page report dated November 16, 2000 (the "Report") prepared by investigator, Deborah Hanscom, which concluded at paragraph 56 that, although the medical evidence which the Applicant provided to the Bank was sufficient to support her claim for Short Term Disability Benefits ("STD Benefits"), she had received an equivalent benefit because she was maintained on full salary from her last day of work on December 15, 1997 until November 9, 1998 when her physician agreed that she was fit to begin a gradual return to work at her former job in Mississauga Ontario pursuant to a Return to Work Agreement which she signed and which was approved by her doctor, Dr. Dickson;

AND UPON considering the Applicant's allegations that:

(i)          The Commission erred when it based its decision on the Report because she did not receive payments which were equivalent to STD Benefits, and;

(ii)         The Commission erred when it relied on the Report because it did not adequately deal with the issue of the Bank's obligation to accommodate the Applicant's disability;

AND UPON concluding that, although the Applicant alleged that she should have been allowed to apply for STD Benefits which would have paid her full salary from December 15, 1997 to June 15, 1998, the Bank actually paid her full salary during that period (albeit with two stoppages corrected by retroactive payments);

AND UPON concluding that, although the Applicant alleged that with STD Benefits she would have been entitled to apply for LTD Benefits which, if granted, would have paid her seventy percent of her salary for a maximum of one year from June 15, 1998, the Bank actually paid her one hundred percent of her salary from June 15, 1998 until November 9, 1998 when her doctor certified that she was well enough to return to work on a part-time basis;

AND UPON concluding that the Report dealt adequately with the issue of accommodation in that it:

·            described the Bank's decision to have the Applicant's mental health assessed by Med Works Assessments in January 1999;

·            described the Return to Work Agreement which the Bank and the Applicant signed which called for a gradual return to work with the goal of returning to her original job in Mississauga, Ontario;

NOW THEREFORE THIS COURT ORDERSthat, for the reasons given above, this application for judicial review is hereby dismissed.

              "Sandra J. Simpson"             

JUDGE

FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA

Names of Counsel and Solicitors of Record

DOCKET:                                              T-287-01

STYLE OF CAUSE:                           VELVET A. PEAVOY v. ROYAL BANK OF CANADA ET AL

DATE OF HEARING:                         April 29, 2003

PLACE OF HEARING:                       Toronto, Ontario.

APPEARANCES BY:                        Ms. Sharon L.C. White

                                                                                                                     For the Applicant

                                                                 Mr. Douglas Gray

                                                                Mr. Daniel Fogel       

                                                                 ...................................

                                                                 ...................................

                                                                                                                     For the Respondent

SOLICITORS OF RECORD:           Ms. Sharon L.C. White

                                                                Inch, Easterbrook & Shaker

                                                                 Barristers and Solicitors                  

                                                                 1500- One King Street West     

                                                                 Hamilton, Ontario.         

                                                                 L8P 4X8

                                                                                                                     For the Applicant

                                                                 Mr. Douglas Gray/Mr. Daniel Fogel

                                                                 Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP

                                                                 Barristers and Solicitors

                                                                 30^th Floor

                                                                 Toronto-Dominion Tower    

                                                                 Box 371, T-D Centre

                                                                 Toronto, Ontario.

                                                                 M5K 1K8.

                                                                                                                        For the Respondent