04/27/2026
Courage is never about the absence of fear. Lydia Dosu knew the risks, knew that she had less resources than York University and the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO), knew that a loss could deepen the psychological and financial harm that she had already experienced, and knew that it would be incredibly difficult to persuade the Divisional Court to overturn a decision in which the HRTO dismissed four out of five allegations that she made against York University that she claimed were rooted in anti-Black discrimination.
Lydia went forward anyway. She did so against the odds, despite the risks, and with a healthy dose of fear. For our part, we at Franklin Law felt fear too. Lydia’s support network encouraged us to push forward despite that fear. We used that fear to ask ourselves tough questions, play out various scenarios, and prepare for the hearing like our lives depended on it. We sought support and feedback from the Black Legal Action Centre (BLAC) and asked it to intervene. Once it became aware of what was at stake, BLAC rose to the challenge and was an incredibly supportive partner. The York university Staff Association (YUSA) also lent its voice to Lydia’s fight.
Through it all, Franklin Law followed Lydia's lead. We knew that if she could risk so much, we had no excuse not to support her.
In the end, Lydia's courage and agency not only inspired us but it also resulted in a hard fought win in the Divisional Court. All of the allegations of anti-Black discrimination that the HRTO unfairly and unreasonably dismissed against York University have been resurrected, are viable, and have been remitted to the HRTO to adjudicate again, hopefully with a different outcome.
In the end, Lydia bore the heavy burden of righting a wrong that if left unchecked would have placed other employees at risk of having their human rights allegations dismissed without justification.
All of us – we at Franklin Law, human rights and workers' rights advocates, and any applicant who seeks human rights-based redress through the HRTO – owe Lydia a tremendous debt.
I was honoured to have represented Lydia, remain in aware of her resilience, and humbly look forward to standing with her in this incredibly important fight.
Dear friends, We are very happy to share some positive news: Lydia Dosu has won her Judicial Review!On Tuesday this week, we received the decision from the Divisional Court of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario. The decision is public and we encourage you to share it widely.The full decision (...
