The plaintiffs in a proposed class action Sagharian et al. v. Ontario will make a motion to the Court on April 25, 2012 to discontinue the action. Click here for the Notice containing full details.

David Baker recently participated in the 2011 Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians conference in Brantford Ontario. Mr. Baker spoke at a workshop on filing a human rights complaint. Click here for the audio stream.

David Baker recently gave a submission at the Supreme Court of Canada in the case of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, et al. v. Attorney General of Canada.

The case concerns the authority of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to award costs to complainants who are successful in advancing claims of discriminatory treatment in contravention of the Canadian Human Rights Act.

Mr. Baker spoke on behalf of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, which has intervenor status in the case.

Click here to view a summary of the case on the Supreme Court’s website.

Click here to watch a video. Mr. Baker speaks from 58:18 to 69:42.

As part of the Law Commission's project to develop a coherent framework for the Law as it Affects Persons with Disabilities, it commissioned six research papers, including a paper from Cara Wilkie, Meryl Zisman Gary and David Baker on the Right to Disability-Related Supports. The paper considers the importance of disability-related supports for achieving substantive equality and reviews the major obstacles in Canadian caselaw to successful claims for such supports.

Click here to read the full paper in html format on the Law Commission of Ontario website.

Bakerlaw senior associate David Baker and articling student Erin Hallock have completed a new paper entitled “The Relationship Between Long-Term Disability Benefits and The Duty to Accommodate: The Plaintiff’s Perspective.”

Click here for the full paper in Word format.

Click here for the full paper PDF format.

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).

Click here to view the full report: Word | PDF.

(Completed)

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."

Click to view the full report: Word | PDF.

Bakerlaw is now accepting applications for the 2011/2012 articling term.

Click here to learn more about the application process.

Join us any time after 6:30 pm in Suite 400 this Wednesday February 17th, then enjoy music by Bad Dog Trio downstairs at Faema Cafe.

In honour of the recent National Access Awareness Week, the Law Society and ARCH Disability Law Centre hosted a forum and reception on access to justice for people with disabilities. Bakerlaw's Cara Wilkie was pleased to speak at the event, which featured a number of leading legal experts and a presentation by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. Click here to learn more. (See "Raising Access Awareness" at bottom of first page.)

We are pleased to announce that students-at-law Nastaran Roushan and Meryl Gary have joined Bakerlaw to complete their articling term. Their proven academic ability and commitment to social justice make them a great fit to the Bakerlaw team.

The University of Windsor law students back Bakerlaw client Benamar Benatta in The Benamar Benatta Working Group. To read about the group click here.