Taking on Royal Bank of Canada: Federal Court Orders Reconsideration of Discrimination Complaint

Greaves v. Royal Bank of Canada, 2019 FC 994 (Federal Court of Canada)

A Long-Serving Employee Terminated and Then Silenced

Colette Greaves had worked at the Royal Bank of Canada for nearly two decades as a Project Coordinator in the Global Technology Infrastructure division. In June 2016, she was informed that she would be terminated. By September 2016, her employment was formally ended. Ms. Greaves believed she had been discriminated against on the basis of her national or ethnic origin, colour, age, and sex. She filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

But the Commission refused to even consider her complaint. A Human Rights Officer recommended dismissal on the basis that Ms. Greaves had previously filed — and then withdrawn — an unjust dismissal complaint under the Canada Labour Code. The Commission treated her human rights complaint as "vexatious" and shut the door without ever examining whether discrimination had actually occurred.

Ken Wise Takes the Case to Federal Court

Ken Wise brought an application for judicial review in Federal Court, arguing that the Commission's decision was unreasonable. The core of Ken's argument was straightforward: a human rights complaint and a labour complaint are fundamentally different. A claim under the Canada Labour Code addresses whether a dismissal was unjust. A complaint under the Canadian Human Rights Act addresses whether the employer's conduct was discriminatory. Withdrawing one does not make the other vexatious — they protect different rights and serve different purposes.

The Federal Court Agrees

Justice Favel of the Federal Court allowed the judicial review. The court found that the Commission's decision was unreasonable — it had failed to properly consider whether the human rights complaint had merit on its own terms. The matter was sent back to the Commission for reconsideration by a different officer, giving Ms. Greaves the hearing she had been denied.

Why This Case Matters

When a major institution like the Royal Bank of Canada terminates a long-serving employee, the power imbalance is enormous. And when the Commission that is supposed to protect human rights refuses to look at the complaint, the employee can feel as though there is nowhere to turn. This case shows that the Federal Court will step in when the process fails — and that having experienced counsel makes the difference between being silenced and being heard.