- Parties: The applicant was Emilio Zavarella. The respondent was the Attorney General of Canada. 

- Subject Matter: The applicant filed a complaint alleging discrimination based on disability against Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The Canadian Human Rights Commission dismissed the complaint on the basis that further inquiry by a human rights tribunal was not warranted. The applicant filed a judicial review application seeking to set aside the Commission’s decision. The applicant alleged that the decision was unreasonable under the principles in Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65, given that the decision breached procedural fairness and failed to grapple with a key aspect of his position, which he expressly identified in his written response to an investigation report prepared for the Commission. 

- Ruling: The court ruled in the applicant’s favour, allowed the application, set aside the Canadian Human Rights Commission’s Nov. 2, 2022 decision, and remitted the matter for redetermination. The court held that the Commission’s decision failed to grapple meaningfully with and failed to provide a responsive justification concerning the position raised in the applicant’s response relating to his alleged receipt of inaccurate information that dissuaded him from accepting the offer. 

- Date: The hearing was set on Sept. 25, 2023. The court released its decision on Jan. 19, 2024. 

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

- Amount: The court ordered the respondent to pay the applicant costs of $3,500, inclusive of taxes and disbursements, under r. 400.