(Disability)
Mr. Lauzon wanted to apply to become a police constable after he had been working as an auxiliary officer with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) for many years. As an initial step, he was required to go through a pre-interview assessment used by the OPP. He met the standards for each of the tests in the assessment except the vision test. Because he did not meet the standard for depth perception, he was not allowed to continue in the application process.
The Tribunal found “the Respondents have not met their onus of establishing that the existing measurement of depth perception is reasonably necessary to accomplish the goal of a police officer being able to do his/her work safely and that the Respondents cannot accommodate individual capabilities and differences without incurring undue hardship. As a result I find that the Applicant was discriminated against on the basis of disability.”
The Tribunal ordered:
- $8,000 to the Applicant for monetary compensation for loss of the right to be free from discrimination
- The Respondent (OPP) to issue a Certificate of Results to the Applicant effective the date of the decision
- The Respondent (OPP) to cease relying on the standard of “stereo acuity of 80 seconds of arc or better” as a vision requirement in the Constable Selection System.
To read the full decision, visit CanLII