Accessibility advocates are blasting the Ontario government for a string of design flaws at a new billion-dollar courthouse in downtown Toronto they say will make it harder for people with disabilities to access the justice system.
The Ontario Court of Justice location in Toronto opened in 2023 and cost just over $950 million to build, design and finance. It brought together six small courts, consolidating them under one roof.
The building boasts brail signage, wayfinding paths for people with vision loss and both remote and in-person options for court hearings across 73 different judicial spaces.
Announcing the courthouse, the Ontario government claimed it was “the most accessible courthouse in Ontario,” with Attorney General Doug Downey boasting his government was “supporting equal access to court services that are currently dispersed across multiple court locations.”
When chair of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance David Lepofsky went to the courthouse, however, he found claims didn’t quite stack …