ARCH: A LEGAL RESOURCE CENTRE FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

1998-1999 Annual Report

President's Report

1999 presented ARCH with many opportunities to learn and grow. Often learning occurs through facing and addressing challenging situations. Although this past year has presented many hardships for ARCH, the future holds great promise in the potential that has been amassed in our organization.

Two major occurrences happened in 1999, which dealt painful blows to ARCH. A complaint was directed to the Board regarding various equity issues and concerns from some staff members. Regretfully, as a result, the activities of ARCH were hampered for most of the year. A settlement agreement with the staff was achieved. At the same time, the Ontario government chose not to renew our contract for InfoAbility.

In 1999, David Baker tendered his resignation and is currently on sabbatical until February 1, 2000 when his resignation becomes effective.

While the Board acknowledges and regrets that we did not move as expeditiously as possible, hopefully, we are now able to close this difficult chapter in ARCH's history, and turn our full attention to fulfilling our mission and our mandate.

Looking forward into the new century, there are exciting and challenging times on the horizon. The Board, with the complete support of Legal Aid Ontario, has under taken a restructuring process of both the operation of the board and the clinic. This project, The Organizational Development Project, is an opportunity to revitalize and re-invent ARCH to meet the needs of its constituency, into the year 2000 and beyond.

I'd like to now take this opportunity to express my gratitude. I'd like to thank the staff of InfoAbility, and in particular Miss Penny Parnes, for their dignified and efficient handling of the closure of InfoAbility. The concept of InfoAbility is important to our community and the work that they did certainly endeavoured to meet that need.

Thank you to all the staff of ARCH for their continued support of our clients and community. It has been a challenging time for them all. We must regretfully acknowledge that ARCH has lost a number of talented staff. Our best wishes for successful futures to all.

I would especially like to thank our acting Executive Director Harry Beatty for his commitment and dedication to ARCH through these trying times. Both the Board and staff express their respect for him.

I would like to thank the outgoing Board members for their participation and support during their tenure. I wish you all continued success in your future endeavours.

The Executive is deserving of special thanks. Although I only took on the leadership role in August, the Executive performed as a cohesive unit, as we navigated through treacherous waters. They have been both leaders and mentors and I thank them.

Finally, I wish for the new Board, patience, commitment and success. And to the entire membership, I extend best wishes for joy, happiness, good health and prosperity for the exciting new year and new century.

Sincerely,

Giselle Cole 

ARCH Litigation and Law Reform Report 1999

Litigation

The staff Litigation and Law Reform Team makes decisions about the cases that ARCH takes on.  The Team screens the requests we receive from individuals, organizations and other lawyers.   The criteria used to decide whether or not ARCH can take a case includes whether the facts of a particular situation support a precedent setting case, whether ARCH has the resources to take a case and whether it fits within the priorities set by the Board and membership of ARCH.  If it is decided that ARCH is unable to represent the individual, some cases may be referred to the Dickson Circle, a group of prominent lawyers who do pro bono work on behalf of the disability community.

ARCH’s mandate to take on precedent setting cases requires extensive planning, strategizing and dedication of resources.  This means that ARCH can take on very few cases at any one time.  ARCH’s litigation team is small, yet has developed, resolved and argued several significant cases over the past year.  Following is some of the important work that ARCH has been involved in over the past year.

Mental Health

Illingworth v. Humber Memorial Hospital

This case raised two important issues.  The first issue was the obligation of a hospital to ensure that rights advice is provided to individuals who are involuntarily committed under the Mental Health Act.  The second issue was whether using restraints on an individual who is described as quiet and cooperative at the time they are applied constitutes battery.  ARCH represented the Estate of Mr. Illingworth, who had been a patient in the psychiatric unit at Humber Memorial Hospital for eight days until his death.  Mr. Illingworth’s brother originally argued this case himself at Small Claims Court where he sued for false imprisonment and battery.  The Small Claims Court ruled that there was no evidence that Mr. Illingworth’s brother had been provided with rights advice as required by the Advocacy Act and the Mental Health Act, nor was he given the appropriate forms under the Mental Health Act.  The Court found that he was therefore was falsely imprisoned.  The Court ruled against Mr. Illingworth on the use of restraints, citing an expert’s report that looked at his overall behaviour during his eight days in the hospital, rather than specifically looking at the behaviour each time the restraints were used.

The hospital appealed the finding of false imprisonment, and ARCH, representing the estate, appealed the finding relating to the restraints.  The Divisional Court found in favour of the hospital on both points.

On Nov. 2, 1999 Patti Bregman and Jennifer August argued the case in the Ontario Court of Appeal.  ARCH was completely successful on the restraints issue and a nominal amount of money was awarded to the Estate.   While ARCH did not succeed in reversing the decision of the Divisional Court on the issue of the hospital's liability for false imprisonment, counsel were able to convince the Court to make a narrower ruling then the Divisional Court made, leaving the door open for success on the issue of rights advice and the hospitals obligations in future cases.

R. v. LePage & R. v. Winko

ARCH intervened in these Supreme Court of Canada cases on behalf of the Canadian Mental Health Association.  Janet Budgell, assisted by Jennifer August, argued that a Criminal Code provision governing the detention of people found not criminally responsible because of mental disorder violated the Charter rights of people with mental disabilities.  It was argued that the provision was unconstitutional because it presumed people with mental disabilities were dangerous. The Supreme Court of Canada delivered its judgment in June 1999.   Although the Court did not find that the Criminal Code provisions violated the Charter, they did accept many of ARCH's arguments and re-interpreted the provision so that it no longer presumes dangerousness. 

Income Programs

Granofsky v. Minister of Employment and Immigration

Harry Beatty from ARCH assisted John Rook, Mark Gelowitz and Lisa Sand from Osler, Hoskins, who represented the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) as Intervenors before the Supreme Court of Canada on a Charter challenge to the CPP eligibility rules.  The appeal was heard on November 10, 1999 and the decision is pending.  The appellant and CCD argued that the CPP minimum contribution rules discriminate against persons with disabilities whose disabilities are variable, episodic, or otherwise temporary.  Because they may have periods when they cannot contribute to CPP through their earnings, they may lose their entitlement completely if they become permanently disabled.  John Rook is a member of the Dickson Circle.

Transportation

Wheel-Trans case

This case involves a Charter challenge to Wheel-Trans eligibility criteria.  If it is ultimately successful it will have far reaching impacts on many persons with disabilities seeking accessible public transportation.  The applicants, were all previously entitled to the Wheel Trans service but were subsequently cut off when a new restrictions were introduced to limit the number of Wheel Trans users. ARCH represented the applicants in a judicial review that was unsuccessful at the Divisional Court.  Leave to appeal to the Ontario Court of Appeal was refused.   ARCH is currently seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Health Care

Discrimination on the basis of HIV status

ARCH was successful in reaching settlements in human rights cases filed against two hospitals who denied medical services to a person because of his HIV positive status.  The settlements provide for systemic remedies including education and training for all hospital staff in caring for HIV positive patients.  Janet Budgell and Jennifer August were counsel on these complaints.

Law Reform

ARCH was involved in two major law reform initiatives this year, as well as continuing to work on a number of ongoing projects.

Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee

Patti Bregman acts as counsel to the ODA Committee which was started in 1994 to work towards legislation to remove and prevent barriers keeping people with disabilities from fully participating in all aspects of society.  David Lepofsky chairs the Committee that now has hundreds of individual and organizational members.  There are 18 active regional committees.

ARCH's role is to provide legal and policy advice to the ODA Committee.  ARCH has prepared a number of briefs and submissions on the Ontarians with Disabilities Act which have been presented to the Legislature and related consultations, such as the recent consultation on the undue hardship provisions held by the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

In the last year ARCH's work involved preparing an analysis of Bill 83, the ill-fated three-page Ontarians with Disabilities Act introduced in 1998.  ARCH played an integral role in developing two private members resolutions passed unanimously by the Legislature calling on the Government to enact the legislation.  The most recent resolution, passed on Nov. 23, 1999, sets a two-year deadline for the enactment of this legislation.  ARCH also assisted regional committees draft resolutions that have been passed by local councils in communities such as London and Niagara.

During the recent election, ARCH prepared a barrier-free election guide that was widely distributed.  ARCH also assisted individuals who faced barriers at the polls. 

Health Care

Patti Bregman is a member of the Health Reform Committee of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities.  This Committee is working on developing a national strategy to ensure that the voices of people with disabilities are heard.  As part of this Committee Patti has participated in a number of consultations on policy directions in the area of health care.

Income Programs

Harry Beatty represents ARCH on the Provincial Steering Committee on Social Assistance.  He also wrote a detailed analysis of the Ontario Disability Support Program that was published in The Journal of Law and Social Policy.

Harry Beatty is also legal advisor to the Social Policy Working Group of CCD.  In that capacity he assisted them in writing “A Work in Progress: A National Strategy for Persons with Disabilities: The Community Definition” this spring.

Public Legal Education and Training

In addition to litigation and law reform, ARCH staff are frequently asked to participate in public legal education sessions, provide training, participate in panels and discuss disability-issues with media.  Some of this year's highlights include:

Training for the Front Lines - in conjunction with InfoAbility staff, John Plater and Agnes Vandergang organized a series of training sessions designed to help front-line staff become better informed so that they could assist their clients obtain benefits and access important programs.

Educating future lawyers about disability issues and serving clients with disabilities through a one-day course organized and presented by ARCH as part of the Bar Admission Course as well as presentations at professional conferences.

Social assistance updating - Harry Beatty presented several training sessions to staff at other legal clinics, consumers and service providers on the new Ontario Disability Support Plan as well as other disability-related programs.

Closing of InfoAbility

Note: ARCH’s InfoAbility service closed on October 31, 1999.  This letter written to a wide range of community organizations, discussed the circumstances.  ARCH expresses our thanks to the dedicated staff and volunteers who helped to build InfoAbility.

September 29, 1999

As you know, InfoAbility is a service funded by the Ministry of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation.  Our mandate is to provide information and referral to vulnerable adults, their caregivers and service providers, via a telephone service, website and other means of communication.  In June 1997 ARCH (a legal resource centre for people with disabilities), with the Ontario Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the Adaptive Technology Resource Centre of the University of Toronto were awarded a 2 year contract to provide this service.  The service has been most successful, as demonstrated by two external evaluations.

Our contract with the Ministry of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation expires on October 31, 1999 and will not be renewed.  The Ministry has informed us that they are committed to continuing to provide information services to vulnerable adults in Ontario.  This will be done through the Ontario government’s INFOLine, delivered by the Ministry of Health.  We will transfer our current local and toll-free telephone information lines to the INFOLine on the 1st of November.

InfoAbility is working with the provincial government to transfer all appropriate resources from InfoAbility to the INFOLine, creating as little disruption for our clients as possible.  Information about the INFOLine is attached.  Please distribute this information to anyone who might be in need of the services described.  Should you have any questions, please contact us prior to October 29, 1999.

Sincerely,

Penny Parnes
Interim Project Manager
InfoAbility

Transition of Information Service for Vulnerable Adults

 From InfoAbility to InfoLine on November 1, 1999

For inquiries related to vulnerable seniors and persons with disabilities across Ontario, contact:	
	Phone (In Toronto):		(416) 482-4359

	Phone (Outside Toronto):	1-800-665-9092

	Fax:			(416) 325-7136

	TTY			1-800-387-5559

	Mailing address:	Client Services Unit
		Ministry of Health and Long Term Care
		Room M1 – 57
		900 Bay Street
		Toronto, ON M7A 1N3

ARCH Board of Directors for 1998-1999

Giselle Cole, 	President 
Ron McInnes, Past President
Jane Atkey, Vice President
John Harty, Treasurer
Sandra Russill, Secretary
Janet Bick
Connie McKnight	
Angelo Nikias	
Meenu Sikand	
Alan Sunisloe	
David Allen, Resigned 
Jennifer Chambers, Resigned
Phyllis Smith, Resigned
Hugh Scher, Resigned
	
ARCH Staff List as of December 1999

Name	 and Position

August, JENNIFER,   Litigation Lawyer
Ascah, HESTER,  Intake Worker
Beatty, HARRY,  Acting Executive Director
Bregman, PATTI,  Lawyer/Health Law Mentor
Chapman, PAULA, Litigation Lawyer
Mingo, BEN,  Articling Student
Plater, JOHN,  Associate Executive Director
Salvador, ALFONSO,  Office Manager
Sanson, GERI, Senior Counsel (on retainer)
Stone, CATHERINE (KIT),  Litigation Secretary
Worth, BETTINA,  Litigation Secretary

ARCH Member Group List for 1998-1999

AIDS ACTION NOW!
A.L.S. Society of Metro
Arthritis Society
Autism Society Ontario
Bob Rumball Association for the Deaf
Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Canadian Diabetes Association
Canadian Hard of Hearing Association
Canadian Hearing Society
Canadian Mental Health Association-Ontario
Canadian National Institute for the Blind 
Canadian Paraplegic Association
Centre for Integrated Education and Community
Cheshire Homes Foundation
Canadian National Institute for the Blind
Down Syndrome Association Toronto
Easter Seal Society
Epilepsy Association Toronto
Epilepsy Ontario
Ethnic Organization for the Handicapped
Extend-A-Family
Family Alliance Network
Friends & Advocates
Frontier College
Brain Injury Association Toronto
Hemophilia Ontario
Houselink Community Homes
Huntington's Disease Resource Centre
Integration Action Group Ontario
Kidney Foundation Central Ontario
Kidney Foundation Eastern Ontario
Kidney Foundation Greater Ontario Branch
Learning Disabilities Association of Halton
Low Vision Association of Ontario
Mood Disorders Association of Ontario
Margaret Fraser House
Multiple Sclerosis Society
Muscular Dystrophy Association Ontario
National Network for Mental Health
National Federation of the Blind: Advocates for Equality
North American Chronic Pain Association of Canada
Northern Ontario Fibromyalgia
Ontario Association for Community Living
Ontario Association for the Deaf
Ontario Federation for Cerebral Palsy 
Ontario March of Dimes
PATH Employment Services
Peel Association for Handicapped Adults
People First of Ontario
Physically Challenged Outdoors Association
PUSH Northwest
Queen Street Patients Council
Reena Foundation
Spina Bifida/Hydrocephlus Assoc. of Ontario
Thalidomide Victims Assoc. of Canada
Transportation Action Now	
Tourette Syndrome Foundation of Canada
VIEWS

ARCH’S Strategic Plan

A.	MISSION (VISION)

ARCH is a non-profit legal resource centre dedicated to defending and advancing the equality rights of people with disabilities.  Recognizing the dignity and worth of all people with disabilities, ARCH promotes full social justice for people with disabilities and their realization of equality of opportunities and full participation.

B.	VALUES & GUIDING PRINCIPLES

ARCH will be guided by a core set of values.  These are:

•	The belief that the dignity and worth of all people with disabilities must be respected.

•	The belief that all people with disabilities have the right to life, to self-determination, and to participate in a society free from barriers to their inclusion and integration.

•	The beliefs that people with disabilities are in the best position to determine their own priorities.

•	The belief that all people in society share the responsibility to create communities which are accommodating to people with disabilities

ARCH will also be guided by the following organizational principles:

•	ARCH will operate in accordance with the above core values.

•	ARCH is community based and community governed:

o	ARCH acts on matters of concern as expressed by member organizations and by individuals who contact ARCH;

o	ARCH is governed by a Board of Directors representing member organizations and the community at large;

o	ARCH is accountable to the community of people with disabilities and to its funders.

•	The core business of ARCH, as legal resource centre, is to defend and advocate the equality rights of people with disabilities through:

o	improvements in laws and policies affecting people with disabilities;

o	increased understanding of the rights of people with disabilities;
o	increased awareness of legal and other resources available to individuals with disabilities and to member organizations.

•	ARCH is not in the business of:

o	taking on disability-related legal or other disability-related problems of individuals with disabilities, if those problems can be addressed by others (except where a legal case would be precedent setting);

o	taking on legal or other problems of individuals with disabilities if the problem is not disability-related.

C.	GOALS

1.	To contribute to changes in law and policy which benefit people with disabilities.

2.	To contribute to improvements in interpretation and use of current law and policy which benefit people with disabilities.

3.	To contribute to an increase in awareness and knowledge on the part of the public and of the disability community about the rights of people with disabilities.

4.	To contribute to an increase in awareness of legal and other resources which are useful to people with disabilities and to member organizations.

5.	To encourage the legal community to serve people with disabilities fairly, equitably, and appropriately.

6.	To strengthen ARCH’s organizational effectiveness.