HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO
B E T W E E N:
Robert MacDonald
Applicant
-and-
Cornwall Public Library
Respondent
decision
Adjudicator: John Manwaring
Indexed as: MacDonald v. Cornwall Public Library
APPEARANCES BY
Robert MacDonald, Applicant ) Martin Buser, Paralegal
Dawn Kiddell, Chief Librarian, ) Pierre Guindon, Counsel
Cornwall Public Library, Respondent )
INTRODUCTION
1Mr Robert MacDonald (the “applicant”) and his family have used the services of the Cornwall Public Library (the “respondent”) for many years. The Cornwall Public Library is the municipal library for the City of Cornwall. The applicant and his family do not reside in Cornwall but make use of the library because it has resources not available in their own community.
2The applicant alleges that the respondent discriminated against him on the basis of disability in provision of services in violation of sections 1 and 11 of the Ontario Human Rights Code R.S.O. 1990, c. H. 19, as amended (the “Code”). The incident giving rise to this application took place on September 20, 2005. The applicant filed a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission on October 12, 2005, which was then abandoned upon the filing of this application on June 29, 2009 under section 53(5) of the Code.
3There is no dispute between the parties that a public library offers a variety of services to the public within the meaning of the Code, and that, therefore, the respondent cannot discriminate against a user of its facilities in violation of the Code’s provisions. There is also no dispute that the respondent library has a legal obligation to accommodate persons with disabilities up to the point of undue hardship, as required by [s. 11](https://www.canlii.org/en/on/laws/stat/rso-1990-