Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/642579
If you've heard a recorded voice call out the name of the next train or bus stop on the Toronto Transit Commission routes, then you've heard what David Lepofsky can get done, when he puts his mind and litigation skills to it. The changes to policy and service at the TTC to accommodate sight-impaired individuals are just one example. Lepofsky's long legal career in public law, including human rights, Constitutional and criminal cases, has always been intertwined with his volunteer strategizing and advocacy to improve the everyday lives of people with disabilities. "We live in a world that was designed on the false assumption that it was intended for people with two eyes that work, two ears that work, two legs that work, two arms that work, no mental health conditions, and no other disability," says Lepofsky. Throughout his 35-year career, Lepofsky has been at the forefront working for systemic changes to ensure people with disabilities are not shut out of ordinary services and opportunities: he was one of the advocates making sure disability was included as a ground protected under s. 15 of the Charter, and the Ontario Human Rights Code. He has continued to see that those rights are respected in measurable ways, successfully fighting to get the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001 and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 passed. That groundwork allowed for practical examples of inclusion, such as removing some barriers so more voters with disabilities could exercise their franchise, and sports lovers with disabilities could try to attend the Toronto 2015 Pan-American Games. Lepofsky spearheads the AODA Alliance, which is currently at work to ensure that the required standards for accessibility under Ontario's law are implemented and enforced. As chair of the Special Education Advisory Committee to the Toronto District School Board, he is working to improve services for Toronto public school students with disabilities. "People with disabilities should not just be treated as exceptions who have to ask for exceptions to be made." This expresses Lepofsky's point of reference. "'We didn't think about it' is not a defence. Nobody says, 'oh, we forgot to put a women's washroom in that building where the public is going to come in.'" Once you meet Lepofsky, it isn't easy to forget him. Harvard Masters in Law, repeated advocate before the Supreme Court of Canada, loquacious, ardent, tireless, and himself totally blind, he is a persuasive champion for the equality rights of Canadians with disabilities. David Lepofsky FLIP YOUR WIG 31