Christopher Karas’s complaint (launched in 2016) to the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) gets deferred to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT)

The CHRC defers the complaint to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, citing that the CHRT is more appropriate to consider the “highly technical evidence”. However, the Attorney General of Canada has submitted an application to dismiss the CHRC’s decision to defer to the Tribunal.

Karas’s complaint was filed against Health Canada as well as Canadian Blood Services, and the Attorney General asserts that because the policy is set by CBS, it is not within the CHRT’s jurisdiction to judge. The CHRT’s jurisdiction only allows them to hear complaints of federally-regulated employers and service providers. While Canadian Blood Services and Héma-Québec operate at arms-length from the government, their regulator (Health Canada) is a federal institution. See here for more information on the relationship between and different roles of Health Canada and Canadian Blood Services.



Canadian Blood Services now allows some gay, bisexual men to donate plasma in Calgary, London, Ont.

Brampton man’s human rights complaint may soon be dismissed.

LGBT activist’s complaint over wait period for blood donation referred to human rights tribunal

A Guide To Understanding The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal