The Council of Canadians with Disabilities filed a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency regarding VIA Rail's purchase of 139 Renaissance rail cars that were inaccessible to personal wheelchairs.
The Agency ordered VIA Rail to modify 30 of the cars to accommodate personal wheelchairs, finding that the inaccessible design constituted an undue obstacle.
The Federal Court of Appeal set aside the Agency's decision as patently unreasonable.
The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal and restored the Agency's decision, holding that the Agency reasonably applied human rights principles, including the duty to accommodate to the point of undue hardship, within its statutory mandate under the Canada Transportation Act.
