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David Baker: From the standpoint of persons with disabilities who are confronted with
major systemic barriers, there are three things that could happen about those systemic barriers.
One, and the most likely, is that nothing will happen and those systemic barriers will
continue to exist. The discrimination will be ongoing. And that will continue to be part
of the social fabric of this country.
Or alternatively, we could look at ways of enhancing access to justice that includes
the resources necessary to address systemic issues through litigation. I’m thinking
there of reinstituting the Court Challenges Program for matters within provincial jurisdiction,
enhancing the funding of the Human Rights Legal Support Centre, and for that matter,
the Human Rights Commission, which is there to do systemic work but doesn’t have the
resources to do it.
But – or interestingly enough, carrying on further with things like the Accessibility
for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, not because it’s working particularly well but because
it has the potential to work well if there are enforcement mechanisms, if there were
mechanisms as they have in the United States for establishing regulations that are strong
and meaningful and actually advance human rights rather than hold back human rights.
Those are the kinds of systemic changes that will show that Canadians respect human rights
for persons with disabilities where it really counts, which is in areas that will allow
people to work and live and participate as full citizens.