Bakerlaw is a recognized leader in disability and human rights law with extensive experience representing non-profit organizations, employees, patients, students and parents from a wide range of social, economic and ethnic backgrounds.
Based in Toronto, Canada, we offer a broad range of litigation services, and also advocate for our clients outside the courtroom in mediations and negotiations, and through government relations and research work.
Bakerlaw has completed a second paper for Barrier Free Manitoba on the best approach to standards-based accessibility legislation. This paper addresses the benefits of a centralized approach (where all standards are developed by one body) and a dispersed approach (where multiple government bodies are involved in preparing and enforcing standards).
Bakerlaw 's Nicole Chrolavicius has settled a key human rights complaint against Air Canada on grounds of racial profiling.
Click here to read the full story in the Toronto Star.
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Nicole Chrolavicius will be speaking at the documentary film festival M.U.C.K. (Movies of Uncommon Knowledge) following a screening of the film "Secrecy" on July 18, 2010. The topic of her discussion will be government secrecy and litigation in the context of national security cases in Canada.
Click here to visit the festival's website and learn more.
Bakerlaw associate Cara Wilkie is scheduled to speak at the 2010 Conference of the National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS). The subject of her talk is Human Rights of People with Disabilities: Practical Strategies.
The conference runs from November 12-14 at the at the Delta Winnipeg Hotel in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Ms. Wilkie will be speaking on the 14th. Click here for the official website.
The Ontario government has released the report of Charles Beer's Independent Review of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. Click here to read the full report on the government website.
Passed in 2005, the Act is designed to make Ontario accessible to people with disabilities by developing, implementing and enforcing standards with respect to goods, services, facilities, accommodation, employment, buildings, structures and premises. Improvements to the act are to be phased in over time, with reviews every five years, moving toward an accessible Ontario by 2025.
Bakerlaw has completed a new report on behalf of Barrier-Free Manitoba entitled "Accessibility Standards Legislation: A Strategic Options Paper."
Bakerlaw will soon be headed to federal court with client Donna Jodhan. Jodhan, who is among approximately 10 per cent of the population with vision disabilities, is asking the government to provide vision impaired Canadians with equal access to government information and services online. Bakerlaw hopes to compel the government to update its web accessibility standards and ensure its websites are accessible to all Canadians.
Click here to read more at thestar.com.
Bakerlaw is now accepting applications for the 2011/2012 articling term.
Click here to learn more about the application process.
On Monday April 26, 2010 the Divisional Court will hear oral arguments in Kozak vs. Toronto District School Board et. al.; a judicial review of the Special Education Tribunal’s decision to uphold the Toronto District School Board’s placement of Jared Kozak in an unidentified special education class.
The applicant, Jared Kozak, is a 10 year old boy who has autism and requires Applied Behavioural Analysis as an accommodation in his classroom as mandated by the Ministry of Education’s Policy/Program Memorandum 140. In December 2009, the Tribunal heard an appeal brought by Jared’s mother requesting that he be placed in a regular class with appropriate accommodation. The main argument on appeal was that the Tribunal has a duty to assume that the accommodations required by law are being made when rendering placement decisions.
On Monday, counsel to Ms. Kozak, David Baker, will argue that the Tribunal’s decision was unreasonable because it failed to take into account the TDSB’s duty to accommodate, it failed to consider whether Jared could succeed in a regular class with appropriate accommodation, and the Tribunal erred in law when it made a placement decision not knowing which special education class/services/program the TDSB was proposing. This case will address fundamental issues addressing the extent to which school boards and the Tribunal are bound by human rights and equality law with respect to the accommodation of autistic children within the educational context.
The Ministry of the Attorney General has indicated that it will be presenting arguments on the legal standard that is to be applied to the Tribunal when making its decisions.
Date: Monday April 26, 2010
Time: 10am
Location: Osgoode Hall, Courtroom 3
130 Queen Street West, Toronto
Osgoode Hall is located on the northeast corner of University Avenue and Queen Street. The closest subway stop is Osgoode.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Zahra Binbrek at 416-533-0040 Ext. 225 or zbinbrek@bakerlaw.ca
Click here to read the full press release.
Bakerlaw has received more than 850 new documents from federal lawyers in the case of firm client Benamar Benatta. As CTV news today reported, the disclosure of hundreds of new pages of information spanning several years comes despite previous assurances there were no further records relevant to the case.
Click here to read more at CTV.ca.
