Our Vision, Mission and Values

VISION

A society in which laws, policies and legal systems ensure full participation, inclusion, dignity, and equal rights without discrimination for persons with disabilities.

MISSION STATEMENT

ARCH Disability Law Centre, as a specialty legal clinic with a provincial mandate, undertakes to achieve this Vision by:

• Advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities, including the removal of systemic barriers;
• Promoting awareness and providing education on the rights of persons with disabilities;
• Addressing issues that have a particular impact on low income persons with disabilities;
• Ensuring that ARCH’s work has Ontario-wide impact;
• Engaging in national disability rights work and influencing the realization of international disability rights norms in Canada and Ontario; 
• Continuously developing and utilizing ARCH’s expertise in local, provincial, national and international law as it affects persons with disabilities;
• Addressing the heightened disadvantage and discrimination faced by persons with disabilities, including as a result of other intersecting grounds of discrimination, including gender, race, age, language, place of origin, economic status, sexual orientation, and others. 

VALUES AND PRINCIPLES

ARCH is guided by the following set of core values:

• The dignity and worth of all persons with disabilities must be respected;
• Persons with disabilities have the right to dignity, equality, self-determination, disability-related supports and full participation in a barrier-free inclusive society;
• Persons with disabilities themselves are in the best position to determine their own priorities;
• All persons have a common responsibility to create inclusive communities accessible to all persons with disabilities. 

Additionally, ARCH is guided by the following set of core organizational principles:

• ARCH operates in accordance with the above core values;
• ARCH is a community-based organization, governed by a Board of Directors composed of a majority of persons with disabilities;
• ARCH is accountable to persons with disabilities in Ontario, its members and its funders.