ARCH: A LEGAL RESOURCE CENTRE
FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
2003 – 2004 Annual Report

Table of Contents

1.	ARCH Mission Statement

2.	Chair’s Report by Sandi Bell, April 1, 2003 to March 31, 2004

3.	Executive Director’s Report: by Phyllis Gordon, April 1, 2003 to March 31, 2004

4.	Audited Financial Statements, March 31, 2004 (distributed separately)
	
5.	ARCH Member Groups

6.	ARCH Staff

7.	Appreciation Page

Mission Statement

‘ARCH: A Legal Resource Centre for Persons with Disabilities’ is a province-wide specialty legal aid clinic dedicated to defending and advancing the equality-rights of persons with disabilities.  
In recognizing the dignity and worth of persons with a variety of disabilities, ARCH promotes the full social justice of persons with disabilities, and their realization of equal opportunities and full participation on an individual and systemic basis.  To this end, ARCH proceeds on the premise that: 

•	Persons with disabilities are confronted with unique legal challenges.

•	Persons with disabilities must have control over their own lives.

•	A cross-disability approach to advocacy issues is essential, but it is equally important to recognize and respect difference.

•	Persons with disabilities may also face disadvantage due to other reasons such as their gender, race, age, economic status and sexual orientation, compounding their experience of discrimination or exclusion.

Within available resources, ARCH undertakes (but is not limited to) the following:

•	ARCH identifies key legal disability issues and conducts test-case litigation.

•	ARCH monitors and responds to law and policy developments affecting persons with disabilities.

•	ARCH provides summary advice and referral for individual persons with disabilities.

•	ARCH provides education to the public and the legal profession on disability-related law.

•	ARCH maintains a range of publicly available publications and legal materials.

•	ARCH undertakes a variety of community development activities.

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 life, self-determination, and full participation in a society free from barriers to their inclusion and integration;

•	Persons with disabilities themselves are in the best position to determine their own priorities;

•	All citizens have a common responsibility to create 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 member organizations and Legal Aid Ontario.

Adopted by the Board of Directors, May 13, 2002

Chair’s Report
2003 to 2004

This has been another busy yet fulfilling year with staff and board members working together for the betterment of the community of persons with disabilities.

Open House

We continue to enjoy out office facilities and held and Open House in October of 2003 to allow members of the community to see the offices and services we provide.  Volunteers demonstrated the use of our accessible computers.  There was an exceptionally good turnout and our guests enjoyed the evening.

Library and Reference Centre

We continue to take pride in and enhance our Library and Reference Centre and more community members are aware of its availability. Wayne Johnston, our former Librarian got us up and rolling along.  Our new Director of Library and Reference is Lishanthi Caldera who is continuing to ensure the Library and Reference Centre is an asset to the community of persons with disabilities throughout the province.  We urge you visit our website at www.archlegalclinic.ca.   We welcome your feedback on how it works for you. 

ARCH Alerts

Staff has continued to produce wonderful ARCH Alerts.  I am amazed by how frequently I see copies of them in the community or receive comments advising how helpful they are.  Thanks staff.

Board Work

Like last year, we have held an incredible number of productive meetings with the Executive Committee, Personnel Committee, Policies Committee, Complaints Committee, Disability Issues Committee as well as the Library and Reference Centre Committee.  Our Fundraising Think Tank Committee had some trouble getting up and running but we intend to give it a try again next year.  As you can see, this constituted many volunteer hours by dedicated board members who have given willingly of their time and talents.

We established a couple of slightly different practices this year that seemed to work well.  We have a segment of each meeting where a member of staff gives the board a report about various issues.  This has facilitated a different level of engagement between the board members and staff.  I have personally felt more well informed.  We have also given the Executive Committee the task of reviewing the agenda items prior to board meetings.  This has resulted in their addressing some of the more mundane issues thereby allowing the full board more time to be engaged in issues that interest them.  While it will be assessed in the new board term, I have felt it worked well.

This year ARCH undertook a comprehensive review of it Summary Advice and Referral program (SAR).  The review is now complete and we believe the new approach will provide better services to persons with disabilities.

As in the past, we conduct many meetings with part of the board attending in person and others connecting by conference call.  We seem to have this down to a fine art now because of the respect we hold for each other.  Thanks again, colleagues of the board.

I am finding it very difficult to write this report, as it is my last report as Chair of ARCH.  I truly do not have word to express my gratitude to all with whom I have worked since joining the board in 1999 – staff and board members.  I take with me more knowledge, experience, smiles and friendships.  I will not forget all that I learned from and with you and hope I can apply some of this new learning elsewhere in the community.

Three other members of the board will also be leaving this year: Jim Buchanan, Jerry Ford and Scott Simser.  Thank you each for your contribution to the board.  I will miss the excuse of ‘hanging out’ with you and hope our paths cross in the future.  Good luck in all of your future endeavours.

Staff.  It is rare to find a staff with the talent and dedication of ARCH’s team.  I would like to speak of each of you but we would be here until next week.  You are and one genuinely incredible team! Thanks for allowing me to work with you. 

Phyllis, I have learned so much from you as an Executive Director and as a person.  Your leadership shines through the office and impacts each person you touch.  You are an incredible woman.

I will carry memories, much learning and smiles with me as I leave ARCH.  I was told that once an ARCH team member, always an ARCH team member so I am no longer worrying that no one will know me if I drop by the office next week.  I have said it before, but I must say it again, I respect each of you so and am truly awed by what you do and how you do it.  The community of persons with disabilities is fortunate to have you in their corner and I am fortunate to have made your acquaintance.

You are genuinely one of the finest groups of individuals with whom I have worked in my many decades of volunteer work.  Thank you for the honour of being Chair of ARCH.  I will be only a phone call away.

Sandi Bell
ARCH Chair

Executive Director’s Report  
April 1 2003- March 31 2004

This past year has been demanding and exciting. In this report I review the extensive activity of the staff, and acknowledge our funders and the support we receive from the community. 
Arch’s Library and Reference Centre

On October 8, 2003 ARCH opened the doors of our new library and reference centre. The library's mission statement reads, "The ARCH library provides persons with disabilities living in Ontario with access to information on disability policy and legal matters. Additionally, the library supports ARCH's activities in ending discrimination against people with disabilities." 

To fulfil this mission statement we have catalogued our collections and implemented new standards to access the wealth of literature that we have accumulated over the years. There have been significant additions to the library collection, which is gradually making the ARCH library a unique reference centre. This initiative is an opportunity to expand our direct services to the public and to increase our support to organizations working on behalf of persons with disabilities.

Website - www.archlegalclinic.ca

ARCH’s website is significantly improved.  It has a searchable database of our library catalogue, where visitors can search the library collection of almost 3000 legal and disability related publications, as well as related websites and electronic documents.

Visitors to our website can read ARCH’s publications and law reform submissions as well as the online version of our newsletter ARCH Alert. The Events section provides information on some of the staff’s activities. We created a new button on our home page for visitors to subscribe to ARCH Alert, which has been very popular among our users. There is also a Donate button! We are happy to note that there has been an increase in the usage of our website in the past year with an average of over 2500 visitors per month.

Outreach Activities

One of the ways that ARCH participates in the community is through regular staff involvement in on-going committees seeking systemic solutions to the problems faced by persons with disabilities. 

Over the past year staff participated in the following committees or coalitions:
 
Coalition for Disability Tax Credit Reform
CPP Working Group
Coalition for Inclusive Education
Disabled Liaison Unit Steering Committee
Disability Tax Fairness Coalition
EI/UI Work Group
Employment and Disability in Ontario
HomeComing Community Choice Coalition
Legal Clinics Housing Issues Committee
Mental Health Legal Committee
ODAC & ODSP Action Coalition--Election Strategy
ODSP Action Coalition and various subcommittees
Steering Committee on Social Assistance

Staff also regularly participated in committees where they advanced the interests of persons with disabilities including: 

Human Rights Lawyers Breakfast Club
Clinic Law Advisory Committee of the Board of Legal Aid Ontario
Court Challenges Program
Disability Working Group of the Law Society of Upper Canada
Equity Advisory Committee of the clinic system
Equity Advisory Group of the Law Society of Upper Canada
Human Rights Training Group
Journal of Law and Social Policy
Legal Aid Ontario Accessibility Committee

Staff represent ARCH when they attend community and legal meetings such as the following:
 
Connecting People to Policy—National meetings held by the Council of Canadians with Disabilities and the Canadian Association for Community Living  
Critical Disability Theory Conference  
Free the People Forum  held by Community Living Ontario
Inclusive Education Forum  
Access Ontario Conference in Sudbury  
Ontario Health Coalition-Private (P3) Hospitals 
Planning Committee for Education Provincial Summit
 
Staff also contribute to the community clinic system by participating on the following committees:

Association of Community Legal Clinics of Ontario executive and various subcommittees
Specialty Clinic Forum 
Toronto Executive Directors Meetings
Toronto Support Staff Association

Public Legal Education

Abilities Magazine Column
Over the past year ARCH wrote columns in the “Forum” section of the national disability magazine Abilities.

ARCH ALERT
ARCH ALERT is ARCH’s electronic newsletter. It provides timely information on proposed legislation, major cases, government consultations, community initiatives, and other important disability-related initiatives and developments.  In this reporting year there were six issues of ARCH ALERT, each with an average circulation of 2500 readers.  ARCH ALERT is provided to persons with disabilities, family members, government officials, disability organizations, the media, lawyers and legal organizations throughout the Province and beyond, ARCH’s member organizations and the community legal clinics in Ontario. 

Public Legal Education Presentations
ARCH staff were invited to participate at a variety of events as speakers about issues of interest to the community. Staff made several presentations during the reporting period, including the following:

•	“Access to Justice” conference hosted by the Law Society and the Law Foundation of Ontario regarding barriers for person with disabilities. 
•	The Clinic Poverty Law Conference “Connections and Directions” on Accommodation of Disabilities and Strategic Planning
•	“Accommodations at Discipline Hearings” to the Benchers of the Law Society
•	Spoke to a parent group of children with autism at the Ancaster Child Care Centre regarding recent tax issues pertaining to persons with disabilities
•	CAMH Community Information Forum on Human Rights and Employment 
•	Department of Justice staff about disability awareness and disability accommodations 
•	Ontario Bar Association 2nd Annual Charter Conference about Equality and the Charter 
•	Spoke to staff and parents at the Hanover Adult Resource Centre on capacity,  substitute decision making and wills
•	Spoke to clinic professionals at various regional training conferences on human rights and housing, the basics of human rights and clinic practices, and a landlord's duty to accommodate tenants with mental health disabilities
•	Student Leadership Forum in Ottawa for the National Education Association of Disabled Students on human rights in post-secondary education
•	Ontario Bar Association conference on "Practice Tips on Administrative Advocacy" 
•	Instructed Public Law at the Bar Admissions Course  
•	“Representing Clients with Disabilities” at the New Lawyer Continuing Legal Education held by the Law Society of Upper Canada
•	WSIB-CPP Medical-Legal Advocacy Training on the Interaction of ODSP and CPP benefits, the Disability Tax Credit, and disability supports  
•	Spoke to Hamilton consumers of attendant services on the issue of abuse
•	Tenant Duty Counsel training on the topic of "Set Asides" as an accommodation
•	“Worker"s Compensation Conference: Law & Practice” presented by Lancaster House and the University of Toronto on protecting confidential medical records.
•	“Navigating the ODA” at the annual conferences of the Community Living Ontario and the Adult Protective Service Providers Association of Ontario. 

Continuing Legal Education 

ARCH lawyers collaborated with Pro Bono Law Ontario and the Law Society of Upper Canada to present a “Disability Law Primer” to lawyers in Ontario. The Law Foundation of Ontario supported this project. ARCH lawyers presented this program in November to approximately 100 lawyers in the Toronto region, and also presented mini-sessions to the private bar in Thorold, Ottawa, and Kingston. ARCH lawyers, along with Harry Beatty, prepared several authoritative articles made available to the lawyers who attended. The articles, which are on ARCH’s website, include:

“Notes on Capacity to Instruct Counsel”
“Accommodation of Disability in Ontario”
“Providing Legal Services to Persons with Disabilities”
“Disability Law Resources”
“Disability-Related Income Tax Provisions”
“Introduction to the Disability Tax Credit”
“Home Care Services Delivered through the CCAC’s”
“Attendant Services” 
“Assistive Devices Program”
“The Trillium Drug Program”
“Programs and Services for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities”
“Mental Health Supports and Services”
“Ontario Disability Support Program: Income Supports”
“Ontario Disability Support Program: Employment Supports Program”
“Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities”
“City of Toronto’s Hardship Fund”
“Estate Planning for Beneficiaries with Disabilities in Ontario: Inheritances, Trusts and the Ontario Disability Support Program”
“Advising the Ontario Disability Support Program Recipient or Applicant who has Received an Inheritance or Insurance Proceeds”

Law Reform

ARCH staff participated in several law reform initiatives that included participation in coalitions, making written and/or oral submissions, meeting with officials, or a combination of these. Some of these initiatives are:

Ministry of Labour regarding the sixty hour work week  
Ministry of Health regarding Bill 31, Ontario's Health Information Protection Act (HIPA) 
Article about changes to the Canadian Human Rights Commission’s process
Ministry of Transportation on the Disabled Persons Parking Permit Consultation
Disability Tax Credit Reform 
Ministry of the Attorney General regarding the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario’s Rules of Practice
Minister of Education regarding the Safe Schools Act
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration regarding the Ontarians with Disabilities Act 
Submissions regarding Safe & Compassionate Schools 
Technical Advisory Committee on disability tax reform 

Summary Advice And Referral

The activities of Summary Advice and Referral (SAR) have been relatively stable in the past year in terms of the number and types of calls and administration of the service.  Not only do we provide service to approximately 1500 SAR callers each year, staff also finds that the pattern of concerns raised by callers to the SAR service is instructive for the direction that ARCH’s work takes.  It provides a barometer of concerns of the grass roots disability community, which inform our systemic advocacy. Many of our callers have multiple disabilities and multiple legal and social service needs.  We also frequently receive extremely urgent calls from individuals who are at risk of losing health care, housing, are being deprived of their liberty or are in life-threatening situations.

During the reporting year we conducted a review of our SAR service and interviewed several other legal clinics regarding their summary advice service delivery. We are in the process of making internal changes to how we organize this work. 

Litigation Highlights 

ARCH engages in test case litigation on behalf of groups and individuals, primarily in higher courts. Test cases include those in which an issue is being considered by a court or tribunal for the first time and in which an appellate court is deciding an issue that will affect a large number of people. ARCH's object in test case litigation is to provide a client’s disability perspective to the decision-maker when a case is being decided that will affect the lives of persons with disabilities.

Martin and Laseur v. Nova Scotia (Workers' Compensation Board).
Last year we reported on this case in the annual report. It also was the subject of an expression of appreciation from our client, the Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups ("ONIWG") at our last annual general meeting. Since then, the Supreme Court of Canada released its unanimous decision and the result was very successful.  
Central to the case was a challenge to the constitutional validity of Nova Scotia’s workers' compensation legislation, which excluded from its general compensation provisions those workers with chronic pain. While such workers were provided with a four-week "functional restoration" program, they were denied access to permanent impairment benefits, retirement annuities, vocational rehabilitation services, medical aid, re-employment rights, accommodation rights, and earning replacement benefits.

The Court concluded that the exclusion from the general compensation provisions violated the equality rights of workers with chronic pain, contrary to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms ("Charter"). The Charter, part of Canada's Constitution, is the supreme law in Canada and provides that persons with disabilities have a right, with respect to government laws and actions, to equality without discrimination.

In reaching its conclusion that this treatment of workers injured with chronic pain was unfair, the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed the notion that persons with disabilities must be treated as much as possible on an individualized basis. Nova Scotia’s rationale for singling out persons injured with chronic pain and providing to them minimal benefits was based upon generalized concerns about all workers with chronic pain. The concerns, which included worries about medical causation issues (and “negative assumptions” about whether chronic pain is real), failed to treat workers on an individualized basis. The Court found that this generalized approach to injured workers was contrary to the Charter guarantee of equality for persons with disabilities.

The Court found that an individualized approach to disability is necessitated by the Charter guarantee of equality. For persons with disabilities, the purpose of the equality right is “to recognize the needs, capacities and circumstances of persons suffering from widely different disabilities in a vast range of social contexts." While ARCH regrets the Court's use of language that describes persons with disabilities as "suffering," ARCH is nevertheless pleased with the strong, individualized approach that was endorsed by the Court.

More clearly than ever before, the Court stated that the Charter right to equality for persons with disabilities entails a right to be accommodated on an individualized basis. The Court found that the right to equality "requires a considerable degree of reasonable accommodation and adaptation of state action to the circumstances of particular individuals with disabilities."  It is now clear that laws enacted by governments and actions taken by governments must treat persons with disabilities on an individualized basis and extend accommodation to them. The Court explained that, in future claims of disability discrimination, "[t]he question, in each case, will not be whether the state has excluded all disabled persons or failed to respond to their needs in some general sense, but rather whether it has been sufficiently responsive to the needs and circumstances of each person with a disability."

Governments that infringe upon the equality rights of persons with disabilities can try to justify doing so through a defensive provision in the Charter, however, the Court warned that governments will have a hard time establishing such a justification. The Court stated that: "when a legislative provision that draws a distinction based on disability is found not to correspond to the needs and circumstances of the claimants to such a degree that it demeans their essential human dignity, the government will face a steep evidentiary burden if it chooses to allege that the provision is rationally connected to the objective of providing the best available treatment to such claimants."

All in all, the decision represents a complete victory for ONIWG and a significant development in our understanding of what the Charter right to equality means for injured workers and other persons with disabilities. ARCH offers its congratulations to ONIWG and to the Ontario Legal Clinics Workers’ Compensation Network, who provided invaluable assistance in the case. The hard work and perseverance of both organizations has paid off. ARCH thanks ONIWG for retaining us and providing to us an opportunity to work with it to advance the interests of injured workers and all other persons with disabilities.

Interventions at the Supreme Court of Canada 
ARCH has been working on three interventions at the Supreme Court of Canada during the reporting year.  Two have already been argued and we are waiting for the decision, and one will be argued in the late fall.

British Columbia (Attorney General) v. Connor Auton

In British Columbia (Attorney General) v. Connor Auton four children living with autism, and their families, challenged the B.C. government’s refusal to fund a medical treatment for autism. At the lower courts the families had successfully argued that the refusal contravened the equality guarantee set out at s. 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter).  ARCH, along with co-counsel from Cavalluzzo Hayes Shilton McIntyre & Cornish, represented the Canadian Association of Community Living (CACL) and the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD).  The CCD and the CACL established a ten-person litigation advisory committee, ranging from consumers to academics.  The case attracted broad attention, with many interveners participating and representing a broad range of perspectives. In addition, the Attorneys General of the provinces intevened to support the position of the Government of British Columbia. It was argued in June of 2004.  We advanced a principled approach to the equality guarantee in the Charter. We argued that the denial of government-funded disability-related supports, services, benefits, and ameliorative mechanisms that are successful in promoting social inclusion, equal citizenship, and participation of persons with disabilities violates s. 15 of the Charter. The CACL and the CCD did not take a position on specific autism treatments. 

Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Newfoundland.

ARCH is also representing the Canadian Hearing Society (CHS), the CACL, and the CCD in Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Newfoundland. The case was identified as critical as it has the potential to affect the “undue hardship” test that must be met by governments with respect to disability accommodations made pursuant to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  The issue of concern in this case is whether the Supreme Court of Canada should revisit a long-standing test used to determine when a violation of the Charter can be upheld as being justifiable under s. 1 of the Charter. The Court of Appeal for Newfoundland and Labrador urged the Supreme Court to adopt a new test that would be more deferential to the rationales offered by governments for violating the Charter rights of Canadians. The case was argued in May of 2004. ARCH argued that the Court must continue to uphold the rights and interests of persons with disabilities when considering justifications for Charter breaches.
 J.J. v. Nova Scotia (Minister of Health)
 
The third case is J.J. v. Nova Scotia (Minister of Health). ARCH represents People First of Canada and the Canadian Association for Community Living, who have been granted leave to intervene at the Supreme Court. The Advocacy Centre for the Elderly (ACE), acting on its own behalf, has also been granted leave to intervene.

The appeal centres on the statutory interpretation of Nova Scotia's Adult Protection Act (APA). The APA's purpose "is to provide a means whereby adults who lack the ability to care and fend adequately for themselves can be protected from abuse and neglect by providing them with access to services which will enhance their ability to care and fend for themselves or which will protect them from abuse or neglect." The objective of the Act is to promote the "best interest" and welfare of the persons the APA is meant to protect.

At the heart of this appeal are issues of natural justice and fundamental rights and freedoms of persons with disabilities. Although not a challenge under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, it is the interveners' position that the interpretation of the APA must not offend Charter values. The decision of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal allows for an interpretation of the statute which would disentitle persons with disabilities, once deemed to be in need of protection, to due process. Courts would be denied the power to review, assess, and choose a plan that meets the best interests of the person in question. The Court of Appeal's interpretation would allow the Minister complete control over fundamental life decisions and choices over a person.

Although this appeal considers Nova Scotia legislation, the outcome is relevant to many other provinces, including Ontario. Ontario, unlike several other provinces, does not have a similar statute to the APA, but failed attempts to introduce similar legislation have been made twice.  The case will be argued in November 2004.

Advocacy at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (“CRTC”) 
In 2003 ARCH became a party to an application to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (“CRTC”) relating to the accessibility of telephone products for persons who are blind. The initial application was brought by long-time activists, Chris and Marie Stark. The Starks are hoping to persuade the CRTC to abandon a 1994 decision to not regulate telephone equipment, as the market place has failed to provide for full accessibility. Many large telecommunication companies are parties to the application, as is the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. The National Federation of the Blind: Advocates for Equality has also made a submission.

In becoming a party to the application, ARCH is endeavouring to broaden the issues to cover the accessibility of telephone equipment with respect to the community of persons with disabilities as a whole and to raise with the CRTC an anti-discrimination and disability law perspective.

The CRTC is proceeding by way of written submissions. ARCH’s submissions are based upon disability and human rights law, the information ARCH gathered during a consultation conducted during the summer of 2004, and information on telephone accessibility in other countries. In our submission we argue that the CRTC has the legal obligation to ensure that telephones and services reach all Canadians, including all persons with disabilities, regardless of the type and the nature of disability. Our submissions are on the ARCH website. The CRTC suspended the proceedings several months ago in order to retain research consultant to obtain additional information on accessibility of telephone equipment to persons who are blind.  We are now waiting for this report and further direction about how the case is to proceed.  
A few months ago ARCH became a party in two other CRTC cases. We will be reporting on these next year, and in ARCH Alert. 

Other litigation: 
On 18 March 2004 the Divisional Court in Ontario found that the Government of Ontario’s treatment of two families, who had tried to access individualized funding with respect to their children with disabilities, breached the standards of procedural fairness. The families were represented by the Community Legal Clinic (Simcoe, Haliburton, Kawartha Lakes), and assisted by ARCH and WeirFoulds LLP. The families had tried, for three years, to obtain individualized funding sufficient to provide necessary supports and services for their children. Each year, the Government provided only a fraction of the funding that was needed without offering any explanations.
 
ARCH is co-counsel with Legal Assistance of Windsor with respect to a human rights complaint against a school board brought by a student who lives with autism and who has been out of school for several years. ARCH made submissions that the Ontario Human Rights Commission reconsider its decision not to refer the matter to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. We are waiting the outcome.  
ARCH was retained by the Empowerment Council for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health to intervene at the Court of Appeal for Ontario in a case called Werbeski v. Ontario (Director, Disability Support Program). We are waiting for the decision that will consider whether the anti-discrimination provisions of the Human Rights Code operate to prevent the Social Benefits Tribunal from applying a discriminatory provision within the Ontario Disability Support Program Act. The provision bars persons, whose disability is addiction, from receiving benefits.

The human rights complaints in the area of public transportation in which ARCH was co-counsel with Hamilton Mountain Legal & Community Services is very close to settlement. The case challenged the adequacy of the City of Hamilton’s para-transit service.
ARCH Funders

Legal Aid Ontario 
The Board of ARCH wishes to acknowledge the on-going support of Legal Aid Ontario (LAO), ARCH’s primary funder. LAO is a large organization that delivers and funds legal services across the province to low income people. Clinics are in the forefront of urging LAO to undertake initiatives that will enhance and broaden the reach of the delivery of legal services.  Where we have been able, ARCH has been advocating for more formal recognition of the necessity to remove barriers throughout LAO. One positive development in this regard is that LAO has agreed that clinics can pay client accommodation costs through their legal disbursements funds. 
Other Funders
The City of Toronto has once again provided ARCH with a Community Grant that supports our information and referral program, for which we are appreciative. ARCH is also licensed by the Ontario Lottery Corporation to participate in the Break Open Ticket program.  Receipts from this initiative support our receptionist position, library purchases and staff training.  The federally funded Court Challenges Program funds test case litigation from time to time, depending on the nature of the case and whether it’s within the federal jurisdiction.  The Law Foundation of Ontario, Pro Bono Law Ontario and the Law Society of Upper Canada have supported our Continuing Legal Education project this year. 

Fund-raising
Last year the ARCH board decided to embark on a fund-raising effort, with the specific goal of funding the salary of an articling student each year.  The project has not yet taken off, but this year’s Board has renewed its commitment to this initiative.  
Appreciation of Professional Support
ARCH is very appreciative of the support of the private bar and the pro bono assistance of lawyers provided to ARCH itself, and to our clients.   This year we acknowledge:

The Advocates' Society 
Harry Beatty, Barrister & Solicitor and Disability Consultant
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP.  For several years Blakes has been placing an articling student with ARCH for a period of three months. Michael Mercer made an outstanding contribution this year.
Josée Bouchard, Law Society of Upper Canada
Lynn Burns, Pro Bono Law Ontario
Carolyn Chandy, Barrister & Solicitor
Mary Louise Dickson, Q.C, Dickson, MacGregor, Appell & Burton
Andrew Lewis, Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP 
Manizeh Fancy, Stikeman Elliott
Arthur Fish, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Catherine Frazee
Joan Gilmour, Osgoode Hall Law School
Mark Hart, Sanson & Hart
John Judge, Stikeman Elliott
Lisa Philipps, Osgoode Hall Law School 
Pro Bono Students Canada
Linda Rothstein, Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP
Geri Sanson, Sanson & Hart
Elizabeth Shilton, Cavalluzzo, Hayes, Shilton, McIntyre & Cornish
Lorne Sossin, University of Toronto Law School
Volunteer Support
ARCH is also appreciative of the support of volunteers who have provided support to us. They have been most helpful and exceedingly reliable. A big thank you from the Board and staff.

Janice Ashby
Lorna Barrow 
Elizabeth Bateman
Emmanuelle (Pierrette) Bourgjoly 
Olive Boyce
Marcia Cummings  
Jennifer Griffiths  
Jodi Kaiman 
Jeannie Kippax
Mike Mercer 
Savitha Thampi
On A Personal Note
While this report describes our work, It does not portray the high calibre of the work and the energy and commitment of the staff. It also does not describe the innumerable incidents of good will and collegial exchange that are a part of our daily lives at the office, or the commitment of the ARCH Board of Directors.  On behalf of all the staff, I wish to thank the Board for its leadership and support throughout this reporting year.
 
In particular, we extend a heartfelt thank you to Sandi Bell, who has served as the Chair of the ARCH Board of Directors for the past two years. The Board has relied upon Sandi for her clear-thinking, good humour, and empathy. Similarly staff have appreciated her friendly support, keen ear, and insight.  I personally have grown as an administrator and director as a result of Sandi’s very considerable expertise, support and wisdom. We all have accepted her leadership for many reasons, the most important of which may be her profound commitment to ARCH and its mandate. 
Respectfully Submitted by 
PHYLLIS GORDON
Executive Director

	Member Organizations

	AIDS Action Now!
	Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Society of Metro Toronto
	AND (Association for the Neurologically Disabled)
	Arthritis Society
	Autism Society Ontario
	BALANCE
	Bob Rumball Association for the Deaf
	Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
	Canadian Diabetes Association Ontario Division
	Canadian Hard of Hearing Association
	Canadian Hearing Society
	Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario Division
	Canadian National Institute for the Blind - Ontario Division
	Canadian Paraplegic Association of Ontario
	Coalition for Persons with Disabilities Peel/Halton/Dufferin
	Community Living Ontario
	Down Syndrome Association - Toronto
	Easter Seals Society
	Easter Seals/March of Dimes National Council 
	EOH Meta Foundation
	Epilepsy Association of Toronto
	Epilepsy Association Ontario
	Extend-A-Family
	Family Alliance Ontario
	Fibromyalgia Society of Ontario
	Friends and Advocates
	Frontier College
	Hemophilia Ontario
	Houselink Community Homes
	Huntington Disease Resource Centre
	Integration Action for Inclusion
	Kidney Foundation - Central Ontario
	Kidney Foundation - Greater Ontario
	Learning Disabilities Association of Halton
	Low Vision Association of Ontario
	Margaret Fraser House
	Marsha Forest Centre
	Mood Disorders Association of Ontario
	Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada
	Muscular Dystrophy Association
	National Federation of the Blind: Advocates for Equality (NFB:AE)

	National Network for Mental Health
	NEADS (National Education Association of Disabled Students)
	Ontario Association of the Deaf
	Ontario Coalition for Inclusive Education
	Ontario Federation for Cerbral Palsy
	Ontario Federation of Community Mental Health and Addictions Programs
	Ontario Fibromyalgia Association
	Ontario March of Dimes
	P.U.S.H. Northwest
	PATH Employment Services
	People First of Ontario
	Reena Foundation
	Rotary Cheshire Homes
	Sound Times Support Services
	Spina Bifida & Hydrocephalus Association of Ontario
	Thalidomide Victims Association of Canada
	The Independent Living Centre London and Area
	Tourette Syndrome Foundation of Canada
	Transportation Action Now!

Staff List

Staff and Position
AMANDA Ward, Community Legal Worker
CARA Wilkie, Articling Student
DIANNE Wintermute, Staff Lawyer
DOREEN Way, Office Manager
HEIDI Lazar-Meyn, Staff Lawyer
LANA Kerzner, Director of Summary Advice and Referral
LESLI Bisgould, Staff Lawyer
LISHANTHI Caldera, Reference Centre Co-ordinator
MARTINE Matthews, Receptionist/Support Staff
PHYLLIS Gordon, Executive Director
ROBERTO Lattanzio, SAR Lawyer 
THERESA Sciberras, Administrative Assistant
BILL Holder, Staff Lawyer (On Leave)
ENA Chadha, Staff Lawyer (On Leave)
HESTER Ascah, Community Legal Worker  (On Leave)

A Special Thanks to Our Supporters

Legal Aid Ontario

City of Toronto, Community Services Grants

Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario

The Trillium Foundation

Court Challenges Program of Canada

Law Foundation of Ontario

Pro Bono Law Ontario

Law Society of Upper Canada

Blake Cassels & Graydon, LLP