Introduction and Overview
With great pleasure, I introduce the revised edition of the ARCH Disability Law
Centre Disability Law Primer. With this Primer, ARCH’s lawyers have produced
an initial reference for advocates as they undertake to deliver legal services for
persons with disabilities. The Primer is not a comprehensive review of the law in
each area that it addresses. Rather, it is intended to provide a foundational base
for further research and study in disability law.
The first edition of the Primer was produced in 2003 and reflected ARCH’s
practice at that time. It was important to update the articles in the 2003 Primer to
ensure legal currency, but also to address those areas of disability law that are
currently important to the disability community and which have formed the areas
of priority in ARCH’s work for the past few years.
This Disability Law Primer reflects an approach to disability law practice that
considers the needs for legal services regarding which persons with disabilities
consult ARCH. Since 2010, ARCH has focused on the following areas of
disability law: services to persons with intellectual disabilities; education law;
attendant services; the right to make one’s own decisions; and access to justice
for persons with disabilities. Based on the mandate of ARCH as one of Ontario’s
community legal clinics, our practice incorporates human rights and poverty
reduction analyses. We hope to have captured this focus in the scope of this
newest edition of the Disability Law Primer.
The Primer contains nine chapters that we have tried to cross-reference with one
another whenever appropriate. Chapter Two, Providing Legal Services for
Persons with Disabilities, is a foundational piece for the Primer. The contents of
this article have formed the basis of many ARCH continuing legal education
workshops and presentations, including modules produced in partnership with
the Law Society of Upper Canada for its licensing program. This chapter