The Divisional Court has found that the strict training and accreditation requirements for the Ontario Disability Support Program’s (ODSP) Guide Dog Benefit are discriminatory, on the basis of disability, contrary to Ontario’s Human Rights Code. On June 12, 2024, the Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC) intervened in the case at the Ontario Divisional Court (Ontario (Minister of Children, Community and Social Services) v. Robinson-Cooke, 2024 ONSC 3556 (Div. Ct.)). You can read more about the Court hearing here.
Following a complaint that took over five years, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario ruled that the Guide Dog Benefit is discriminatory. The Tribunal reached this conclusion because the strict requirements for getting the $84 per month benefit make it very difficult for people with mental health disabilities to access the benefit. The Guide Dog Benefit policy requires service dogs to be trained and accredited by a single organization, and that organization does not have any locations in Ontario that train and certify service dogs to assist people with mental health disabilities (other than veterans or first responders). The Ontario government decided to challenge the Tribunal’s decision in a judicial review application before the Divisional Court. You can read more about the Tribunal’s decision and the timeline leading up to the Divisional Court case here and here.
On July 18, 2024, three judges of the Divisional Court upheld the Tribunal’s decision. In a unanimous ruling, the court rejected all of the Ontario government’s arguments. ISAC’s intervention arguments helped influence the Court’s analysis. The Court decided that the Tribunal had used the right test for discrimination under the Human Rights Code when it focused on whether adverse treatment based on disability resulted in a disadvantage. The Court also upheld the Tribunal’s power to award broad remedies to prevent future discrimination. The Court decided that the Tribunal dealt with the evidence in a reasonable way, and properly justified its departure from a few past decisions that did not find the Guide Dog Benefit discriminatory.
The Ontario government is now seeking permission to appeal the Divisional Court’s decision to the Ontario Court of Appeal. If they do not get permission, the Divisional Court’s decision will stand and ODSP will be forced to redesign the Guide Dog Benefit in a non-discriminatory way. ISAC will be following the case closely.
Read the Divisional Court decision here.