- Parties: The applicant was Elizabeth Portman. The respondent was the National Research Council of Canada. 

- Subject Matter: The applicant suffered from a progressive form of multiple sclerosis. She filed a complaint against the respondent. She alleged discrimination based on the lack of accessibility resulting from buildings built in line with the National Building Code of Canada, which the respondent created. The Code allegedly impacted housing, transportation, shopping, government services, hospitals, and other built environments. The Canadian Human Rights Commission issued a decision adopting a report prepared by a human rights officer and declining to deal with the applicant’s complaint. She sought judicial review of this decision. 

- Ruling: The court ruled in the respondent’s favour and dismissed the judicial review application. The court found the officer’s analysis intelligible, logical, and justified in light of the applicable factual and legal constraints. The court held that the officer did not simply repeat the respondent’s submissions (that the Code was not held out to the public, given the intended users) but instead made a reasonable factual finding that disagreed with the applicant’s characterization of the Code. The court concluded that the Commission reasonably applied the applicable legal standard or test to the complaint’s factual backdrop, which the Commission had accepted as true. 

- Date: The hearing was set on Sept. 21, 2023. The court released its decision on Feb. 15, 2024. 

- Venue: This was a federal case before the Federal Court. 

- Amount: The court exercised its discretion and awarded no costs.