News Releases

Toronto – November 29, 2010 – Today the Federal Court of Canada released a landmark decision concerning the right of Canadians with disabilities to access government websites.

Justice Kelen has ruled that Canada’s federal government must deliver key websites in a useable format for blind and partially-sighted Canadians. Canada will now be joining with numerous other countries – such as the United States, Australia and EU member states – that have already made their federal websites accessible. The tools and standards for building accessible websites are inexpensive and widely available to web developers.

Click on the following links to view the full release: Plain text | PDF.

Click on the following links to view Justice Kelen's full decision. The first several pages of the document provide a detailed overview of the matter: Plain text | PDF.

From September 21st to the 23rd, Bakerlaw will be representing Donna Jodhan before the Federal Court of Canada in Toronto. Ms. Jodhan, a legally blind Canadian, is challenging the federal government over websites that are inaccessible to blind and partially sighted web surfers. Bakerlaw is asking the courts to require the government to make job application forms and other major services accessible for these users.

Click on the following links to view the full release: Plain text | PDF.

Click on the following links to view the factum for the case. The first several pages of the document provide a detailed overview of the matter: Word | PDF.

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.

A coalition of rights groups today deplored the Canadian government’s failure to disclose fully documents relating to the illegal transfer to the US on September 12, 2001 of Bakerlaw client Benamar Benatta, resulting in his detention there for close to five years.

Click here to read the full press release on the Amnesty International website.

11 December 2008

The Honourable Peter Van Loan
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada
269 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0P8

Dear Minister,

We are writing this letter out of a deep concern about the Government of Canada's Statement of Defence recently filed in the Ontario Superior Court in the case of Benamar Benatta...view the full statement in Adobe pdf format or in text format.

Today the Supreme Court of Canada rejected the application for leave to appeal filed by the plaintiffs in the Ontario Autism Class Action Lawsuit.

The five families behind the case, which seeks full and timely access to treatment and education for children with autism, expressed their disappointment over the decision, and noted that they would be meeting with David Baker, their legal counsel, in the coming days to determine next steps.

Whatever the parents ultimately decide, they emphasize that the issue is not going away. "Autism
is an increasingly common condition, and the members of any growing family could find
themselves in this impossible situation we face," says group spokesperson Taline Sagharian. "Techniques and therapy that work do exist. What is desperately needed is a proper system for getting kids with autism the access to help they need to grow up as high-functioning and independent as possible."

Click here to read the full press release.

The plaintiffs in the Ontario Autism Class Action Lawsuit announced today that they are taking their case to the Supreme Court of Canada, continuing their battle for full and timely access to effective treatment and education for children with autism. Bakerlaw is legal counsel to the five families behind the case.

Click here to read the full press release in Adobe PDF format.

Bakerlaw client Donna Jodhan is challenging the federal government over its inaccessible jobs websites.

"If we don't stand up and make ourselves heard, the government will keep on dragging its feet," Jodhan said in a press release issued today. "We need to act now, to make things better for tomorrow's generation."

Click here to read the full press release on her case in Adobe PDF format.

NDP MP Bill Siksay today issued a press release calling for a full public review of the case of Benamar Benatta. Mr. Benatta was illegally transferred by Canadian officials to the US on September 12, 2001 and held for five years in American custody. He is represented by Bakerlaw, with Nicole Chrolavicius acting as lead counsel.

Click here to read the full press release on MP Siksay's website.

Court to rule on whether class action on autism treatment and education can continue

A high-stakes hearing in a landmark autism class action lawsuit will take place at the Ontario Court of Appeal on Monday, February 11 at 10:30 am. The Court will hear arguments on several key issues in the case, in which parents are fighting the Ontario government and school boards for full and timely access to effective treatment and education for children with autism. Bakerlaw is representing the parents' group behind the case.

View the full press release in Adobe PDF format. Click here to view a backgrounder on the case in PDF format.

Today the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) released a landmark decision concerning the right of individuals with disabilities to travel by air without having to pay for a second seat, for an attendant or other use, to accommodate their disability.

In a historic decision in the "Person, One Fare" case, the agency has recognized the right of these individuals to have access to a second seat when traveling by air in Canada without having to pay a second fare.

Bakerlaw has been representing Joanne Neubauer, the Council for Canadians with Disabilities and the estate of Eric Norman, a complainant who has since died, on the case. Click here to read the full press release in Word format.

Today a coalition of eight organizations representing equality-seeking communities announced that it will file a motion in Federal Court to intervene in the case challenging the decision of the federal government to cut its funding to the Court Challenges Program. Court Challenges is a decades-old program that is a crucial source of money for equality-focused legal fights in Canada.

"The Program supported several challenges and interventions that helped define what the right to equality means in Canada" says Bakerlaw's Faisal Bhabha, legal counsel for the coalition, in a news release issued today. "The Program itself has become inseparable from the constitutional guarantee of equality that it was designed to promote."

Click here to read the complete press release.