The Law Commission of Ontario (LCO) recently released six research papers covering a broad range of topics about the effects of the law on people with disabilities. The papers were commissioned as part of a larger project on disabilities and the law, and were completed by a range of contributors including a disability law centre, professors, community advocates and legal experts.
Two of the papers were developed by ARCH Disability Law Centre and look at the rights of people with disabilities in the developmental services system, as well as the problematic use of certain legal defenses to protect social programs against human rights complaints brought by people with disabilities. Michael Bach, of the Canadian Association for Community Living, and Lana Kerzner, an Ottawa-based lawyer, focus on issues of autonomy and legal capacity for people with disabilities. Professor Mona Paré from the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law looks at participation of people with disabilities in decisions that concern them, with a specific focus on education. Two additional papers discuss the rights of people with disabilities to receive appropriate disability-related supports and the eligibility criteria for disability support programs.
The six research papers on the law and people with disabilities are available at www.lco-cdo.org.