Forty people with disabilities and allies wanted to send a strong message to the elected officials of the City of Montreal today. They stormed the hall of honor at Montreal city hall and were heard.
Why?
The Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission has just rendered a decision in favor of the president of RAPLIQ, Mrs. Linda Gauthier, who lost her right to vote in the municipal elections of Montreal in 2009 due to the inaccessibility of a polling station.
This decision requires the invalidation of a section of the “Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities because of its discriminatory nature and specifically targets the office of the president of elections of the City of Montreal.
Since thousands of Montrealers can still be deprived of their right to vote on November 3, 2013, the decision of the Rights Commission could upset the next municipal election and expose the City of Montreal to hundreds of lawsuits for discrimination based on disability.