What are my rights to post-secondary education as a person with a disability?

All educational institutions have a legal obligation to provide reasonable accommodation, up to the point of ‘undue hardship,’ in order to ensure equity for students with disabilities. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the various provincial charters prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability, and post-secondary institutions have been mindful of the obligation to create an accessible environment dictated by these charters. Canadian colleges and universities are now beginning to articulate the rights of disabled students as they develop educational equity policy statements. It is recommended that disabled students contact their disability services office for more information: http://www.neads.ca/en/norc/edlink/

Other organizations that can help clarify the legal aspects of disability accommodations include: ARCH Disability Law Centre, Council of Canadians With Disabilities and Reach Canada. ARCH is “a non-profit community legal clinic which defends and promotes the equality rights of people with disabilities through litigation, law and policy reform, and legal education.” You can contact ARCH at its Toronto office:

Advocacy Resource Centre for the Handicapped (ARCH)
425 Bloor Street East, Suite 110
Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3R5
Telephone: (416) 482-8255
TTY: (416) 482-1254
E-mail: archlib@lao.on.ca
Web site: http://www.archdisabilitylaw.ca/

Reach Canada is “an Ottawa-based voluntary organization that empowers people with disabilities to remove barriers in education, work and the general community.” Contact Reach at:

Reach
400 Coventry Road
Ottawa, Ontario, K1K 2C7
Telephone: (613) 236-6636
TTY: (613) 236-9478
Fax: (613) 236-6605
Toll-free: (800) 465-8898
E-mail: reach@reach.ca
Web site: http://www.reach.ca