It is widely acknowledged that Bill 107 weakened the Disability Access Legislation that the AODA and others lobbied the government to implement.  Premier Dalton McGuinty promised to implement a disability law with effective enforcement through the Human Rights Commission process. Yet, Bill 107 removed the Human Rights Commission’s enforcement abilities, stripped its entire investigation staff and cut its legal department in half.  What is now being done about enforcement?

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Alliance, the African Canadian Legal Clinic, the Metro Toronto Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic, the Canadian Arab Federation and the Ontario Federation of Labour, its affiliates and labour councils worked together to challenge the pernicious aspects of Bill 107.  Together, we lobbied, attended meetings and made numerous presentations to this government.

We agreed that Ontario’s human rights system needed revamping.  But we insisted that any changes must be brought about through meaningful and inclusive input from the communities, organizations and unions that represent victims of discrimination on a daily basis.

Instead, Ontario’s new Human Rights Tribunal has set up a new set of complicated rules that are difficult for unrepresented persons to navigate. There is now a new, longer, more detailed application form that poses a challenge even to specialists. Incorrectly completing a form can jeopardize the viability of a case, making legal counsel a prerequisite in practice, if not in law. Far from improving access, these and other changes have created new barriers and restrict access to those seeking basic fairness in their lives.

Despite these obstacles, we continue to encourage victims of discrimination to access the system.  But, in the absence of government leadership, we hope that the public and the media assist us in monitoring the effectiveness − or ineffectiveness − of the new system.