Greater Sudbury mayor John Rodriguez is expressing some frustration after the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) filed applications on July 6 at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario against Hamilton, Sudbury and Thunder Bay transit providers, on behalf of visually impaired bus riders.
The commission took action after those Ontario public transit providers “failed to implement plans to call out all stops for bus passengers.”
“What more do you expect from us?” Rodriguez asked. “I suppose they would expect the mayor to go and install these himself.”
The city will install an automated call-out within 60 days, “and they have been told that,” he said. “It seems to me they must be finding things to do with their time or they're not well informed.
“We passed a resolution at council (to install an automated call-out system). We've even went one step further than they requested us to do ... We're not only announcing the stops, we're showing the stops for those who are sight-challenged, as well as hearing-challenged.”
In 2002, the OHRC first told the transit sector, through its consultation report, that lack of stop announcements on transit routes was a barrier for persons with a vision disability.
In July 2007, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario released its decision in Lepofsky v. Toronto Transit Commission ordering the TTC to begin announcing all stops on buses and streetcars that summer.
Soon afterwards the OHRC contacted public transit authorities across the province to ensure transit operators were aware of their obligations under Ontario's Human Rights Code, OHRC policy and recent human rights case law.
However recent media reports say the OHRC claims several transit providers are not meeting their commitments.
The Commission is asking the Human Rights Tribunal to order Hamilton, Sudbury and Thunder Bay transit providers to begin calling all stops on all routes within 30 days. In addition, the OHRC wants those transit providers to train their staff on the importance of making transit accessible, monitor progress and report publicly on measures they've taken.
“We have already told them what our schedule of implementation is,” the mayor said. “There is no issue here.”
On March 11, city council approved a contract worth $536,252 to be awarded to Nova Bus, a division of Volvo Group Canada, for the purchase of 45 complete stop announcement systems.
“Maybe somebody ought to look at how these people (at the commission) spend their time, sending out letters when we're already committed to comply,” the mayor said. “We're complying within the 60 days, we've already told them that.
“I don't understand why they would send us that letter. I'm completely bamboozled by this correspondence.”
