+++ Accessibility in Brief: The Newsletter of the Ontario Courts Accessibility Committee. Fall 2010, Issue 1 Accessibility in Brief is published twice yearly by the Ontario Courts Accessibility Committee.  If you have questions or suggestions for the newsletter, please send them to OCAC@ontario.ca. For more information on accessible services in Ontario courts, visit the Ministry of the Attorney General’s website at: www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/about/commitment_to_accessibility.asp. This plain text version of Accessibility in Brief follows the TEN Standard. You can find more information on the TEN Standard at: www.headstar.com/ten. ++ In this issue. 01: Giving People with Disabilities their “Day in Court” 02: Accessible design for courtrooms of the future 03: A message from the chairs 04: The value of accessibility: A voice from the bench 05: Who we are: OCAC membership [In This Issue ends]. +01: Giving People with Disabilities their “Day in Court”. Across the phone line, you can hear the enthusiasm as Janette Sprovieri,a court accessibility coordinator based in Thunder Bay, explains a recent accommodation provided for a person with a disability. “The person was very ill but wanted to proceed. We needed to bring a hospital bed into a courtroom in a location close to her because she couldn’t travel. The judge and court reporter were in another location and a lawyer had to participate from a third location -- all by videoconference. There was allowance for breaks so she could rest and some adjustments were made to address the noise of the oxygen tank. It was very rewarding to know the person had their day in court and the judge commented how well it all worked”, Sprovieri explained. Sprovieri acts as a regional court accessibility coordinator and supports five local accessibility coordinators in courthouses throughout the Northwest region. Across Ontario, the Ministry of the Attorney General has accessibility coordinators in all full-time provincial court locations and is expanding the service to satellite and fly-in locations. An accessibility coordinator is the contact for anyone with a question about accessibility or anyone needing accommodation for a disability in the courthouse, both for court events and for counter services. “Basically we’re problem solvers”, said Sprovieri referring to accessibility coordinators. “Something has to get done so a person with a disability can use the court. We make the connections to make sure it happens.” She feels the one point of contact on accessibility in the courthouse is helpful. “It’s important that the public has one place to go to get information and that everyone in the courthouse knows that contact too”, she said. The accessibility coordinator service is available to any court user with a disability and questions may also come from the judiciary, counsel or family members. Sprovieri said most requests in her region have come through the legal representative for the person with a disability. “We can tell people what accessible services we have or look into options to address the individual needs”, she said. The most frequent requests in the region are for assistive listening systems or sign language interpreters. She adds that certain requests may need a decision from the judiciary. When asked what makes the accessibility coordinator service work in Thunder Bay, Sprovieri’s pride comes through. “Our local judiciary here have been very open to the service and to working with the accessibility coordinators to address the accommodation situations. That is a really important factor,” she said. “All our court staff are very, very accessibility conscious. We talk about accessibility all the time. When they had some recent accessibility training the reaction to it was… of course, why wouldn’t you do that! The need to make things work for people with disabilities just seemed like common sense to them.” If you or someone you know needs accessible court services such as locating an accessible washroom, requesting a large print or audio copy of a court form or has other questions, contact your local court accessibility coordinator. Contact information for accessibility coordinators for each full-time courthouse is available in the court address section of the Ministry of the Attorney General’s website at: www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/courts/Court_Addresses. Make requests for accommodation of a disability as early as possible so there is enough time to arrange the services or equipment. Article by Laurie McEvoy a senior accessibility and business analyst in the Accessibility Unit of the Ministry of the Attorney General. +02: Accessible Design for Courtrooms of the Future. How do you make sure that all areas of a courtroom are accessible to people using wheelchairs yet maintain sightlines and court decorum? This is just one of the challenges facing the Ministry of the Attorney General in its long-term plan to make all ministry facilities accessible to people with disabilities. The Ministry of the Attorney General is responsible for six million square feet of facilities, including 172 courthouses across Ontario. It is far easier to construct new courthouses that are accessible than it is to remove pre-existing barriers from courthouses constructed long ago when the needs of persons with disabilities were not considered. The ministry is committed in the long-term to doing both. The ministry’s short-term initiatives are directed at both fronts by: 1. developing guidelines to be used for all new construction and significant renovations to ensure accessibility for all who use the court system; and 2. conducting a pilot project to audit accessibility problems in existing facilities. Accessibility Design Guidelines. Constructing courthouses that reflect the function and traditions of our court system while at the same time ensuring dignified access for any person with a disability, requires considerable expertise and a measure of ingenuity. Issues such as sight lines and decorum within the courtroom and security throughout the building must be addressed while at the same time ensuring accessibility for all participants. The accessibility guidelines will build on existing accessibility standards but address the unique needs of courtrooms and courthouses. For example, courtroom layouts include: - sloped walkways and adequate aisle widths to provide access for people who use wheelchairs or other mobility devices to the various areas of the courtroom (judge’s dais, witness box, jury box, etc.) - raised but accessible platforms to enhance sightlines between the various courtroom participants. - furniture that allows users to adjust the height of table surfaces to suit their own requirements. - infra-red assistive listening systems that transmit speakers’ voices directly to portable headphones, cut out background noise and provide amplification for people who are hard of hearing or have trouble concentrating. - captioning systems capable of displaying real-time typed transcription of court proceedings to help people who are hard of hearing, deafened or those with learning disabilities who benefit from reading rather than listening. The guidelines will continue to be updated to reflect new standards and experience. For example, construction of the recently completed Durham Region Courthouse identified enhancements in the design of the accessible witness box and accessible jury box that will be considered in the next version of the guideline. Pilot Accessibility Audit. The second initiative supporting the long term plan for accessible courthouses is a pilot project to evaluate accessibility of existing court facilities. The ministry is conducting an accessibility audit of three courthouses in partnership with the Ontario Realty Corporation which owns and operates buildings on behalf of the provincial government. Removing existing barriers in courthouses across Ontario is a daunting project and one that will require even more ingenuity than new construction. However, the ministry is committed to finding innovative and sustainable solutions. Maintaining heritage features while providing accessibility is a particularly difficult task. The pilot project will evaluate key accessibility features including how people access the building, washrooms and the courtrooms themselves. The experience and findings will then be used to: - refine the audit to be conducted on all remaining facilities. - identify the range and degree of renovations required. - develop a long term plan for making all existing facilities accessible. The Accessibility Audit and the Accessibility Design Guidelines are the foundation of a comprehensive long term approach to addressing the accessibility needs of Ontarians in Ontario court buildings. Article by Andrew Nizielski a senior architect with the Facilities Management Branch of the Ministry of the Attorney General. +03 A Message from the Chairs: Justice Susan Lang and Ann Merritt Persons with disabilities are frequently involved with the courts as litigants, witnesses, lawyers, jurors or even as members of the public and yet face significant barriers that prevent their full participation in Ontario’s court system. Welcome to the first issue of the Ontario Courts Accessibility Committee’s (OCAC) newsletter. This newsletter is designed to keep you updated on our progress towards reaching our goal of a truly accessible court system. By way of background, in 2005 an advisory committee, the Courts’ Disabilities Committee, was established by former Chief Justice of Ontario, the Honourable R. Roy McMurtry to consider further steps to more readily accommodate people with disabilities in Ontario’s court system. In 2006, after extensive discussion, debate, research and consultation, the advisory committee released a report “Making Ontario’s Courts Fully Accessible to Persons with Disabilities”, (www.ontariocourts.on.ca/en/report_courts_disabilities.htm) under the leadership of its chair Justice Karen Weiler of the Ontario Court of Appeal. The report makes broad recommendations to increase court accessibility for persons with mental, physical or sensory disabilities. In response to one of the key recommendations of the report, the OCAC was established in 2007 by former Chief Justice McMurtry and then Attorney General Michael Bryant as a permanent committee. The mandate of the committee is to support the implementation of the report’s recommendations and to provide strategic advice to the court system to support accessibility measures. Some of the major initiatives to improve accessibility to date include: - Accessibility coordinators have been put in place at all full-time court houses across the province. They are the main point of contact for members of the public, jury members, court staff or the judiciary seeking information on accessible services or accommodation of a disability. (See the article on page 1 for details.) - The OCAC has also advised on various drafts of the Ministry of the Attorney General’s Accessibility Design Guidelines for courthouses, to ensure not only that accessibility of court facilities is maximized but that the effective functioning of the court is maintained. (See the article on page 3 for details.) - The OCAC successfully applied for a grant from the Law Foundation of Ontario and is undertaking an independent project to make accessibility curricula and educational materials available to organizations that are responsible for educating the judiciary, the legal profession and law students. (See our next newsletter for more information.) Accessibility begins with communication. We welcome your feedback and comments – both about the newsletter and about how to improve accessibility in Ontario’s courts. All feedback and comments can be directed to the OCAC via OCAC@ontario.ca. Article by Justice Susan Lang, Court of Appeal for Ontario and Ann Merritt, Assistant Deputy Attorney General, Court Services Division, Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG) are the Co-Chairs of the Ontario Courts Accessibility Committee. The OCAC includes representatives from all levels of court, the Ontario bar, provincial government, senior management and advocacy organizations for people with disabilities. See below for a complete list of members. +04 The Value of Accessibility: A Voice from the Bench Presiding in an accessible courtroom has become an experience that is rewarding in ways that were both expected and unexpected. This is a subjective narrative; it is clearly personal. Thus the reader needs to know four salient facts to understand my perspective. - I have been a Justice of the Peace for the past four years and a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada for just over three decades. - I meet the description of “a person with a disability” due to polio and post polio syndrome. A leg brace and cane or wheelchair are my mobility devices, depending on the task. - These conditions led to my interest in accessibility for all citizens, both as an individual and working with volunteer organizations. - I was an inaugural member of the Accessibility Advisory Council appointed under the Ontarians’ With Disabilities Act. The accessible experiences described below have all occurred in the new Durham Region Courthouse in Oshawa. Opened in February of 2010, this six-storey building has 33 courtrooms for the Ontario Superior Court and both benches of the Ontario Court of Justice. The building has many features that make it accessible for most Ontario citizens including those with a wide range of disabilities. Some individuals may find improvements that could be made to make it more accessible for their particular disability but it is such a huge improvement over all existing courthouses that, for me, it is a pleasure to work in. It is new, bright and spacious, reportedly occupying more square feet than any other courthouse in the province. It is so large that some destinations require me to use a wheelchair rather than my cane. Sadly, that includes the Tim Horton’s. In the accessible courtroom there are no stairs to climb; as the presiding judicial officer I enter from a judicial corridor that is on the same level as the bench. For this Justice of the Peace that means simply a short stroll in, setting the cane down, unlocking the full length leg brace and sitting, all in the length of time that Madam Clerk is making the announcement to formally open the court. By contrast, the challenge of the inaccessible courthouse began with the stairs; to climb even one or two is a visible and sometimes painful struggle (done with little grace), the need to lock and unlock the brace, and extra time needed to do the rest of the seating exercise. With the accessible court the embarrassment of the stumble, or the dropped cane, or the resounding clang as the copy of the Criminal Code tumbles perfectly into the waste basket and the pregnant pause between the end of Madam Clerk’s announcement and my safe arrival on the bench are eliminated. The ease of the coming in and the going out has allowed my mind to be more cognizant of all that happens in the accessible courtroom. It is noted that soft spoken counsel are more audible in these courts than in the old bail courts. People with hearing aids seem to have no difficulty hearing anything said. Wheelchair and child stroller access within the court is much greater. These are only anecdotal impressions, but all indicate the value of the accessible courtroom. These courtrooms also have systems and devices that can assist in other ways. For example, the lectern can be raised or lowered to accommodate different heights, counsel tables can be raised or lowered to accommodate a wheel chair and the lighting system can be adjusted for people with light sensitivities. The obvious benefits of the accessible courtroom are as noted above. The unexpected benefit, from my perspective here in this courthouse (primarily the bail courts), is that the courts seem to be operating more effectively. There have been issues here with all of the stakeholders as we cope with a huge facility with its’ own unique set of problems that can delay the courts. My courts seem to be proceeding at the same rate as those of my colleagues. Yet the activities in my courtroom seem much more energetic and more effective than in the old courthouse. The lists in Bail Court have not been shrinking, nor has the cast of individuals changed. The only change is the accessibility of the courtroom. That one small change appears to allow a better quality of justice than an inaccessible bail court. Article by His Worship Duncan P. Read who presides as a Justice of the Peace, Ontario Court of Justice, in Oshawa. +05 Who We Are: Membership of the Ontario Courts Accessibility Committee Co-chair Justice Susan Lang, Court of Appeal for Ontario Co-chair Ann Merritt, Assistant Deputy Attorney General, Court Services Division, MAG Justice Gloria Epstein, Court of Appeal for Ontario Justice Anne Molloy, Superior Court of Justice Justice Stanley Sherr, Ontario Court of Justice Justice Howard Borenstein, Ontario Court of Justice His Worship Gary McMahon, Ontario Court of Justice His Worship Duncan Read, Ontario Court of Justice Dante Pontone, Assistant Deputy Attorney General, Corporate Services Management Division, MAG Lynn Norris, Director, Corporate Planning Branch, Court Services Division, MAG Joanne Spriet, Director, Court Operations- Central West Region, Court Services Division, MAG Judy Stamp, Director, Facilities Management Branch, Corporate Services Management Division, MAG Jeanette Parsons, Board Member, Canadian Hearing Society Lisa Bonin, Advocates'Society (Associate, McCarthy Tétrault LLP) Joy-Ann Cohen, Ontario Bar Association (Law Office of Joy-Ann Cohen) Mary Louise Dickson, Q.C, Law Society of Upper Canada (Partner, Dickson MacGregor Appell LLP) William F. Flanagan, Dean and Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, Queen’s University David Lepofsky, President, Canadian Association of Visually Impaired Lawyers Denise Sayer, Associate, Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP Jane Southren, Advocates' Society (Partner, Lerners LLP) Accessible PDF versions of this newsletter are available by contacting OCAC@ontario.ca. Ce document est aussi disponible en français. [Newsletter ends].