One Law Student’s Experience:

The policies of Québec campuses that have law schools are similar to those at universities in other provinces. The main possible difference is that Québec universities decided on a province-wide policy on disability accommodation. In 1994, Québec universities adopted the Framework Policy on Integration of People with Disabilities (Politique cadre sur l’intégration des personnes handicapées - Adopted March 31, 1994, by the Executive Committee of the Meeting of Rectors and Principals of Québec Universities).

The different universities took differing approaches to implementation of the Framework Policy. Each of the five universities that has a law faculty says that it follows the general principles of equity and integration established in the 1994 Policy. It appears that McGill University has gone further. Following the adoption of the Framework Policy, McGill initiated (in 1995) a detailed policy asserting the rights of students with disabilities to equal treatment. McGill has also expressed a commitment and responsibility of the university to provide services, administrative support, and equipment to ensure integration and equity for students with disabilities. This core philosophy has also been expressed by the Dean and other faculty members and administrators at McGill’s Law School and underlies the work of the Office for Students with Disabilities. (It is quite possible that law school faculties and Disability Service Providers on other Québec campuses support this perspective, but our Québec researchers found it to be most evident at McGill.)

Because the Québec universities that we are reviewing base their disability accommodation efforts on the province-wide Framework and on the related provincial funding formula for disability services, we decided to compare Québec campuses in the following way: First, we looked at what Québec universities with law schools appear to have in common. Then, we considered significant differences among those campuses - according to the information they have supplied on their websites and in their brochures. In all instances, we tried to obtain supplementary information by contacting university officials. If data on a university or its law school are not given on a particular subject, that is because the data were not publicized by the institution, nor supplied to our project researchers in response to our inquiries. We have also added inputs from students who answered our survey on accommodation for law students in Québec.

The Framework Policy holds as a central principle that a university ought to eliminate all forms of discrimination and must take fair and reasonable measures necessary to ensure the accessibility and integration of students with disabilities.

To ensure the implementation of the general principle, the Policy establishes specific provisions as follows:

According to its financial resources, the university should remove all architectural barriers, to make all buildings accessible for students with disabilities.

In all its brochures, the university must mention physical accessibility to buildings and the palliative measures taken to facilitate access to programs of study.

In its educational regulations, the university must allow for accommodation of time limits applicable to examinations and of deadlines for completing academic assignments.

The university is committed to maintaining student residence rooms adapted to students who have mobility difficulties.

The university should:

Mention in its application forms phone numbers and addresses where the persons or services in charge of welcoming students with disabilities can be reached.

Provide the following to personnel in charge of the admissions process - access to expert advice on (a) the means necessary to carry out disability accommodation and (b) the means necessary to facilitate integration and full participation in university life for students with disabilities.

The university should maintain as much as possible a network of resource persons to provide adequate information and supervision for students with disabilities, and facilitate their participation in university life.

The university should provide:

Education to employees - especially employees who are in direct contact with students in their teaching or administration of university life, on the problems faced by students with disabilities.

Information on the main types of disabilities and how to help people with disabilities and their families, during the basic training of students in Health Sciences, Social Services, Psychology, Sciences of Education, Sports and Development.

According to its financial resources, the university should offer students with disabilities the necessary specialized equipment and alternative formats that will ensure access, especially to library resources.

The university is in charge of coordinating and implementing the different elements of the policy in order to achieve the objectives of accessibility and integration of students with disabilities into university life.

Each Québec University has developed programs to comply with its obligations of equity and integration toward students with disabilities. Those programs deal with questions such as access to campus information, transportation, parking, accommodation programs for teaching, exams and course materials, equipment availability, accessibility to buildings, classrooms and lodging on campus or off-campus, extra-curricular activities, financial help, scholarships, and so on.

Under each of the headings below, we highlight different approaches that have been identified by the individual universities, and occasionally by law students from their campuses. All universities clearly state on their websites and in printed documents the principles of equity and integration guiding their services. They also give more or less detailed information on how to access disability services and describe the process of integration for students with disabilities within the university environment. They also sometimes provide students with information regarding on-campus associations for persons with disabilities, and occasionally, off-campus associations as well.

On their websites, most universities present their policies and data on available services and accommodations for disability. They usually offer approximately the same information in printed material whose lettering is, unfortunately, not always easy to read. However, in all instances the information is readily available, or available on request, in alternative formats (e.g.: Braille or cassette) to suit all students’ needs for accessibility.

Note that Offices for Students with Disabilities (Special Needs Offices) may not publicize information on housing, employment or other matters because these services are handled by other offices on campus that deal with, for example, housing or career placement. Similarly, matters concerned with athletics, medical care, psychiatrists, student social activities, financial or general computer/technology issues would be covered by other specialized offices. As one project advisor observed students who have a disability are students first and should use regular services where appropriate. Just because the Office for Students with Disabilities does not refer to something in its publicity does mean that the necessary services and supports are not present on campus. It may simply mean that another office is in charge of a particular matter and that the Office for Students with Disabilities provides only peripheral advice or assistance to the student on such matters.

Based on the websites maintained by Québec law schools, it would appear that they generally do not have their own special policies. They apply the general policies of the university to which they belong on a case-by-case basis or simply refer their students to the university offices for students with a disability. Information from law students attested that most of the time students are not even aware if a member of the Law Faculty staff is in charge of accommodating students with disabilities or if there is a formal policy from the Law School on accommodation for students with a disability. In our survey, one student expressed a wish for a better cooperation between the Office for Students with Disabilities at his university and the Faculty of Law. Such cooperation would enhance accommodation services divided between the two of them, wherein services related particularly to teaching of law would be ensured by the Law Faculty while the university office would provide general services.

McGill’s printed materials are particularly informative, setting an example that other campuses in Québec and elsewhere should consider emulating. The following general pamphlets are issued along with appropriate covering notes from McGill’s Office for Students with Disabilities: "Receiving services at McGill", "Attendant Care" and "Financial Aid". (A full list of McGill pamphlets related to accommodations for specific disabilities is provided in the Appendices of this Guide.) To facilitate their use on campus, these short documents are each clearly numbered as part of a series, and are each printed on a different colour of paper. Relevant sheets are provided to a student in a personalized folder, based on that student’s disability and individual accommodation needs.

The simple approach taken by McGill to differentiate information sheets covering different topics facilitates the work of staff. What is more important, these steps increase the accessibility of the documents to students. McGill officials point out that their approach makes it easier to produce revised materials each time there is a change. Printing costs are also lower than for a glossy booklet that is harder to revise frequently. McGill’s website gives the same information as the pamphlets and is a good source to get initial information on accommodation.

Sherbrooke’s booklet gives information on all services available to the students on and off the campus as well as on how to contact the person or service in charge. It is a handy brochure, small and easy to carry around. The university website offers the same information, sometimes with more detailed data. Both printed materials and website could be improved in dividing information into more paragraphs with clear headings (e.g., indicated by capital letters) that are easy to read and having a large print version readily available is also recommended.

The website of Université de Montréal gives detailed information on all services available to students with disabilities on the campus. The information appears to be complete with headings in capital letters, making it easy to search needed information. According to each main kind of disability, the site gives information on whom to contact, examples of equipment available and the type of accommodation that can be expected. There might be some initial difficulty with the lettering on the website, which is of normal size, but the font size can be increased on the screen and it can be downloaded. There is no indication of any published large print version of material being available.

Printed documentation from UQAM (Université du Québec à Montréal) gives only a very short account of the different services available, with addresses and/or phone numbers of the services and persons in charge. The university website is much more informative and well done. It gives lots of detail on all services and equipment available, as well as addresses and phone numbers of services and persons in charge on and off the campus. It also provides students with a quite complete phone and e-mail directory. The site is easy to search and data is available online in large print versions for Mac and for PC.

The information provided by Laval University is the same on its website and in its printed material. The site and documents both give a clear account of the various services and equipment available, as well as the phone numbers and addresses of persons in charge. It would be useful, however, to give more detail generally and to include additional information - on housing, for example.

According to their brochures and websites, all Québec universities are committed to helping students with disabilities to integrate into the university and to finish their chosen programs of study with the same opportunities as other students. The universities all ask students planning to use the services of the Office for Students with Disabilities to meet at the beginning of each semester with an employee of this service. Together, the student and service provider are intended to conduct an evaluation of the student’s needs and to elaborate a plan of action according to those needs and the program of study chosen.

In their publicity materials, most universities do not reveal the conditions required to have access to the services for students with disabilities. Obviously, the students must have a disability of some kind, but they are not forewarned about the documents or data that a student is supposed to provide. McGill’s gives somewhat more public information, telling students that they are required to provide letters from medical professionals and from previous academic institutions.

Québec’s Ministry of Education (MEQ) provides funding to all universities to cover special services supplied to students with disabilities, but only for students having a disability that is recognized by the MEQ. Funding is also not available unless the student is from Québec.

The Université de Montréal website states that the disability of a student who wants the benefit of special services must be recognized by the MEQ. A couple of other universities announce policies that are less restrictive.

McGill University has an accommodations policy that is more inclusive than that of some other Québec universities. Its Office for Students with Disabilities provides services to any student with a disability, even if the student would not be recognized by the Ministry of Education as a student with a disability. Some other universities such as Laval and Sherbrooke offer services to students not registered with the Ministry of Education, if they use services (such as use of the adaptive technical "laboratory") that do not involve payment or if the students themselves will be paying for the services.

Offices for Students with Disabilities will help students to complete the documentation required for recognition by the Ministry of Education.

Once the needs of the student and his or her right to access the services offered by the Office for Students with Disabilities are established with the help of a staff member, the Office will accommodate students according to the human and material resources that the Office has available. Brochures and websites from all universities list services that are almost identical from one university to the next.

During the program of study students may obtain the benefit of human resources such as note takers, reading services, perhaps volunteer readers, interpreters in sign or oral languages, tutoring or care attendants. Also available, are material resources such as access to C-Note, NCR paper, tape recorders, photocopiers, FM systems and Brailling of course materials, books and articles. Some equipment such as computers can be borrowed for short-term loans. The above list of equipment and human resources is far from exhaustive and universities’ offices for students with a disability informed us that they will always do their best to accommodate the student according to his or her specific needs.

McGill and Université de Montréal give detailed information in their printed material or on their Web sites concerning the equipment as well as the human resources available, with examples of the type of services offered according to each disability. McGill documentation is particularly informative, detailing how to request each service and what financial assistance is available for it.

All universities allow students with disabilities to receive accommodations for exams and other evaluations. The most common ones are extension of time and date lines for exams and academic works. Other accommodations such as scribing services or use of a computer are also available.

Universities require that the student talk to his or her professors, with the support of a resource person if needed, to make the professors aware of the student’s need for accommodation, as well as the type of accommodation requested. McGill and UQAM publicize the possibility for students to write their exams on the premises of the Disability Services Office. No doubt the other universities offer a similar option, but this is not indicated in their publicity material.

Discussion with professors regarding accommodation for exams, academic work or lectures is clearly easier where the Office for Students with Disabilities assists each student who has a disability by sending letters to professors explaining his or her special situation. These letters are often accompanied by booklets or guides designed to help the professor to understand and answer the specific needs of a student with a particular disability. McGill, UQAM, Université de Montréal and Sherbrooke all state that they provide such support.

Although we did not obtain as much detailed information as we might have wished on the accessibility of campuses, most universities seem genuinely anxious to provide access to all services and amenities on their campuses for students with disabilities. Students who answered our survey agreed that they did not encounter major or many physical obstacles, since most university services are accessible.

 

12.9.1

Access to Buildings and Classrooms

According to the information provided by the five universities, most buildings are wheelchair accessible and have elevators; they typically rate accessibility to their buildings at 80 - 95%. Despite the desire of most universities and Disability Service Providers to remove all architectural barriers, it is difficult and costly to make old buildings accessible. At any university, we cannot be sure to what extent the lack of full accessibility into and within buildings is attributable to an overall lack of resources or to a lack of priority being given to accessibility for students with disabilities.

McGill University, often cited as an example for its commitment toward those who have disabilities, says that only 80% of its buildings are wheelchair accessible. The Law School buildings have accessibility problems remaining, especially with respect to the Law Bookstore and the Moot Court room. During the summer of 2000, a new elevator was being installed to improve access in the steeply sloped Moot Court. This will make it easier for students or others who have disabilities (e.g. professors or guest speakers) to make presentations at the front of the Moot Court.

Similarly, Sherbrooke Law School deemed 95% accessible since the construction work recently accomplished in the building, still has accessibility problems with respect to its Centre Judiciaire, which holds the Moot Court. Some construction work will be undertaken shortly to make it accessible to wheelchairs. One student with a mobility disability confirmed that this is the only place in the Law School building that hampers access. One result is a restriction on the ability of students with mobility disabilities to participate in conferences.

Although information on outdoor access to buildings is available on university websites or in their printed documents, not all universities mention accessibility to classrooms. (Information can be obtained through the services in charge of student integration and some universities such as Université de Montréal et Laval University publish a specific accessibility guidebook.)

Both UQAM and McGill say that if a classroom or building is not accessible to a student, the student (presumably with the aid of the university’s Office for Students with Disabilities) may request that the class location be changed to an accessible site. UQAM and Université de Montréal note the possibility that students with mobility difficulties may be provided with special desks in classrooms. All other universities have confirmed that they will provide accommodations related to classroom teaching. (Realistically, cost will be a factor considered by a university in deciding where and how to meet a request. The student should seek the support of law school officials and Disability Service Providers on the campus.)

All library entrances in Québec universities are wheelchair accessible. Most university publicity does not indicate, however, whether it is easy for students with a disability to use the available tables, work stations, periodical indexes or photocopiers and whether it is easy to access books, journals and so on. Universities do have technical centres exclusively reserved for students with disabilities. The centres are equipped with computers and other special materials and software as well as adapted tables, chairs and lighting. All universities seem to offer similar equipment for students. It is usually necessary to make an appointment the first time to learn how to use all the equipment.

Université de Montréal offers specialized documentation services accessible to persons with physical disabilities and hearing or vision impairments. These services are reserved to students and professors of the university and a specialized staff is available to help in using the equipment. The equipment available includes adapted computers, special software, Braille display, regular (e.g. laser) as well as Braille printers, voice recognition and screen readers. The service appears to be well equipped but is available certain hours during the day only and not on weekends.

The Law Library is also accessible to students with disabilities; however, students may use the service of the specialized documentation centre, where publications from any library on campus can be delivered to them.

McGill reserves two adapted public workstations (computers and scanner) in the law library for students with disabilities, giving access to McGill’s catalogue and periodical index systems. The workstations also have MS Word, Arkenstone Ruby scanning software, Dolphin HAL screen reading software, and IBM home page reader. Other software can be added as required. A CCTV print enlarger is also available at the law library. Elsewhere in the university, the Office for Students with Disabilities makes available computers with special software, voice recognition, a screen reader, Zoom Text, and a CCTV print enlarger and assists with book retrieval and photocopying, scanning, Brailling and searching of databases. At the law library, a CCTV print enlarger is available. A lab with adaptive equipment, situated at the main library, is available during all hours that the library is open. Given advance notice from a student, the library will provide other assistance. Loan renewals can be made by phone. Book returns are at wheelchair level. In 1999-2000, when two blind students from overseas were enrolled in a graduate law program, the Office for Students with Disabilities employed a work study student exclusively to help blind students in law. McGill’s broad range of services work most reliably, however, if the student can plan ahead and make an appointment for assistance, because certain facilities and services depend on the student calling ahead and some services are available during scheduled hours only.

Despite the many aforementioned services and supports, one blind respondent to our survey of lawyers and law students reported difficulties using the main McGill library as well as the law library and said that blind students had to rely a lot on other students for help. We can only guess as to whether the difficulties experienced by the individual related to, for example, the capabilities of particular staff members, serious flaws in the overall system or scheduling shortfalls on the part of library staff and/or the student.

Sherbrooke libraries (including the Law Library) are wheelchair accessible. Students can request that special equipment be made available at the library of their choice and the Office for Students with Disabilities offers an escort service to the library. A student with any kind of disability can thus use any of the libraries of the university. A centre for technical support provides students with computers equipped with appropriate software and keyboards as well as other equipment that can be used by students with vision and hearing impairments. At the Law Library a few adapted workstations are available to students with disabilities and staff members will help to retrieve books, periodicals and other documents.

UQAM’s libraries are wheelchair accessible with adapted tables. UQAM says that there is always a staff member ready to help. The university also has a Laboratory of computers and technologies where students can use and borrow specialized equipment such as desk computers (seven) equipped with special software. Also available are access to the library catalogue and e-mail and four laptops. All the equipment available is listed on the Internet. The Laboratory is said to be accessible at any time through the Service for Integration of Persons with Disabilities or the Office for Prevention and Security (Bureau de la prévention et de la sécurité).

At Laval University, students with vision impairment can use the equipment of the "audiodiapotheque". The room is easily accessible with two elevators equipped with voice recognition system and has been set up with adapted furnishings and lighting. The available equipment is listed on the website and includes three computers with specialized software and other materials such as Braille dictionaries and tape recorders. For students with other types of disabilities, nothing is said on accessibility and available equipment. However, the service for students with disabilities told us that the library is wheelchair accessible. Students with types of disabilities other than vision impairment use the same services as all other students and can request help from the staff. The library does not offer adapted tables. The Law Library is part of the main library and offers the same services as above.

Only a few universities publicize information on access to administrative offices, washrooms, and so on. All relevant universities were contacted and confirmed, along with our survey respondents, that administrative offices have been made accessible, more or less recently. The fact that some universities mention little or no data regarding cafeterias or other facilities does not mean that all of these facilities are inaccessible, though some probably are. It may simply mean that the required information must be sought from the Office for Students with Disabilities. There are many adapted facilities of different kinds, and a university may not report on them all individually.

Most buildings on all campuses have adapted washrooms and fountains, and most also have adapted telephones. Sherbrooke says that all its buildings have adapted washrooms, phones and fountains on all floors. At Laval, there are adapted lockers. The McGill Law School cafeteria is accessible. UQAM’s documentation states that there are reserved tables for students with disabilities at the central cafeteria and that students may request help from staff members. Though cafeterias at other universities may be accessible, they do not always have reserved or adapted tables for students with disabilities.

All universities give some information through brochures and websites, on financial help from the Québec Ministry of Education or the federal government. Unfortunately, if we compare information coming from different universities, it is difficult to know what kind of public funding is available from which government, and what requirements are to be fulfilled. Explanations given by one university were not always coherent with the ones given by another university. However, we determined that three different types of funding are available through public sources.

This program is available to all students with disabilities. There are special conditions for students, who qualify as having a major functional disability, who will receive funding in the form of a bursary rather than as a loan. This program is available only for Québec students who have a disability recognized by the Ministry of Education (MEQ). For example, students with learning disabilities are not recognized for funding. To qualify, students must take at least 6 credits per semester (2 courses, usually). A normal load is 15 credits, so a part-time student can qualify.

This program from the MEQ is also reserved for Québec students. The program grants allowances that cover some support services and special equipment, including note taking (with a maximum of hours) and equipment that is necessary and directly linked to the program of study.

Technical equipment for some disability categories, such as devices for hard of hearing students, and equipment for students who have a visual impairment, is funded by the Ministry of Health (RAMQ), and is dispensed through relevant rehabilitation centres in the general off-campus community. Other equipment which is useful beyond the academic milieu, such as a wheelchair, is funded in a similar way. To qualify, the student must be registered for at least 6 credits. The support is available to students who have been classified as being eligible for a bursary because they have a "Major Functional Disability". There is another eligibility category for students who do not qualify for financial aid and who are classified as having a "Minor Functional Disability". (In other words, these eligible students are entitled to some low-cost support even though they do not qualify for financial aid.) The Functional Disability designations are based on strict definitions of the severity of a disability, such as the level of vision loss, hearing loss or mobility impairment.

Québec Health Insurance

UQAM’s documentation also signals that material resources for visual and hearing disabilities are to be reimbursed by Québec Health Insurance, (under the general provincial public health insurance system).

Students with disabilities can receive funding to pay for part of their transportation expenses in relation to their studies, but this allowance is available only in areas where public transport is not available. UQAM and Sherbrooke mentioned this help in their documentation.

All students with disabilities can also apply at their university for private funds available from the university or from other private sources in the form of scholarships, fellowships, or bursaries. Obviously, non-resident students should find out about public funding available from their own province or territory.

All universities indicate in their brochures and on their websites where to obtain the information on the different loans, bursaries, fellowships and scholarships available at university, provincial or federal levels. McGill and Sherbrooke also provide a fair amount of detail on how to apply to the Program for Special Needs Allowances (Programme d’allocation pour les besoins particuliers).

Students seeking financial help because of a disability should make inquiries at the university Office for Students with Disabilities and at the university and law school offices that handle student financial matters. The latter will usually be called the Student Financial Aid Office or Bureau d’aide financière aux étudiants or some combination of these, depending on the university. Often the staff at one office will know about funding sources about which the other office seems unaware. The Office for Students with Disabilities may also assist students who need help in applying for financial aid; for instance by collecting required information and helping to complete application forms.

Once a student receives a loan, bursary, or scholarship, the Office for Students with Disabilities may offer to provide assistance relating to applying the funds toward accommodation services. For instance, if a student needs a personal assistant or attendant, the office may help the student to select and hire that person, write the contract between the student and the person and pay the person.

One of our survey respondents was not told by his university or law school about any specific financial help for students with disabilities.

Students from other provinces or territories who choose to study in Quebec, and who are in receipt of a Canada Student Loan, can apply to the Canada Study Grant program to seek funding for services and special equipment. These grants are administered by the home province but can be used at out-of-province institutions. Documentation of disability is of course required.

Université de Montréal has an on-campus, free of charge, adapted system of transport, available from September to April, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 6 pm. Any student with a disability who wants to use this service is asked to give his or her schedule to the Office for Students with Disabilities. Then, the transport service will be established for the session, though with the possibility of modification. For transportation in the city of Montréal, the university invites students to contact the department for adapted transportation of the Service de Transport de la Communauté Urbaine de Montréal (STCUM - MUCTC) - public transport. For students with disabilities who need parking, the university has reserved spaces close to entrances, in each parking area. Students using those spaces must have the appropriate provincial automobile sticker as well as the parking sticker of the university. For students with temporary needs, it is possible to obtain from the university a sticker with "H" (handicapé(e)) on it.

A student who has a mobility disability and provides supporting medical documentation when registering with the McGill Office for Students with Disabilities will be able to use McGill’s adapted transport service, free of charge. This is available on the main campus (downtown, where the law school is located) from Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5:30 pm. McGill says that a student needs only to contact the driver from any phone (or from designated phones). Service off-campus or to McGill’s satellite MacDonald campus requires registration with the department for adapted transportation of the (public) Service de Transport de la Communauté Urbaine de Montréal (STCUM). Through the Office for Students with Disabilities and the Parking Office, reserved parking is available at McGill for students who require parking related to a temporary or permanent disability, after submission of the relevant medical documentation. The monthly fee for preferential parking is equivalent to the cost of a monthly STCUM bus pass (less than half the normal parking rate).

Sherbrooke University does not operate an adapted campus transportation service for students with disabilities. The university invites students to contact the service for adapted transportation of the Corporation métropolitaine de transport de Sherbrooke (public transportation). The Corporation proposes two types of services for transportation of persons with disabilities (seven days per week until midnight). Underground tunnels are also available among all buildings, except the students’ residences, and are easy to access in wheelchairs. Reserved parking is available in all buildings and is close to wheelchair accessible entrances. No detail is given on how to get authorization, but one presumes that the procedure is similar to McGill’s (i.e., authorization based on medical data).

There is no adapted transportation for UQAM. Twelve parking spaces have been reserved for persons with disabilities. For information on authorization and prices, a phone number is given. The university gives a list of vehicle stops for adapted transportation by STCUM (public transportation) and provides a related phone number. The Service for Students with Disabilities explains that there are no real problems with transportation on the campus since it is really centralized. We hope that this assessment is not overly optimistic, since we understand that a few important UQAM buildings such as the Student Services building are located away from the main campus site.

Printed and internet documentation from Laval University gives little information on adapted transportation. It refers students to the Société des transports de la communauté urbaine de Québec (STCUQ) - Québec public transport, and to the Service for students with disabilities. The Service for students with disability informed us that the public transport is enough to satisfy the needs of students with disabilities since it goes all around the campus. Moreover, all buildings are linked together with tunnels, which makes travel between buildings easier in all seasons. The Service for students with disabilities informed us that parking spaces are reserved at the entrance of each building, for a reduced price.

Université de Montréal has made available eight apartments specially designed to accommodate students with physical disabilities. These spaces can be rented for a year or a session. They are double normal size and offer equipment such as a double electrical bed, easy access drawers and cupboards, removable work station, individual heating, bath or shower room (shower with direct access for a wheelchair), security rings, automatic doors, and so on. There is no information available on the website about off-campus housing. We learned however, that there is a student service focused on off-campus housing. Two staff members are available to retrieve the information from a computer database, including data on the accessibility of the lodging.

McGill University documentation does not mention questions related to housing, but the Office for Students with Disabilities informed us that there are accessible apartments on the campus at Solin Hall and that accessible rooms are also available for women at Royal Victoria College. However, the university’s general policy is to reserve the rooms in residences for first year students. Law students, who usually have another university degree, are thus not eligible for rooms in residence. Nonetheless, the Office for Students with Disabilities is able to arrange for an upper year student who needs an accessible room to live in residence. A list of off-campus housing is available but does not mention if those apartments or rooms are accessible or adapted for students with disabilities.

Sherbrooke University has reserved and accommodated a wing of La Maison des Étudiants with an adapted kitchen and easy access rooms for students with disabilities. All student residences also have access ramps, accommodated washrooms, fountains and parking spaces, but information regarding adaptations and equipment in the rooms themselves is not available. The Service for students with disabilities explained that adaptations include access ramps, lower wardrobes and drawers and lower work stations. According to Sherbrooke, there are no real limitations in the number of rooms that can be accommodated outside La Maison des Étudiants, because the service will request accommodation according to the number of demands.

A service for off-campus lodging is available at the Office for Students with a Disability. A list of apartments and rooms close to the university campus is available, with information on whether the lodging is adapted or not for a student with a disability.

Eight rooms in UQAM student residences have been accommodated for students with disabilities and a list of adapted accommodations in the Montréal area is available. Phone numbers are given for students who would like more information re campus and off-campus housing.

Laval University does not offer fully adapted housing in residences (such as the one offered at Université de Montréal) but some rooms are accessible to students with disabilities. Laval offers disability accommodations such as larger rooms and private bathrooms. Laval does not have a list of off-campus housing at the moment. A student group is reportedly working on the problem, however. That information is not mentioned in the brochure nor on the website of the Office for Students with Disabilities.

 

12.13

Other Information

With the 1994 Framework Policy on Integration of People with Disabilities (Politique cadre sur l’intégration des personnes handicapées), Québec universities are committed to "ensure integration of students with disabilities". Such integration should include participation of students with disabilities in university life, including access to sports, cultural and other social events, and assistance in finding employment at the time of their studies and after. Most universities and law schools do not deal with those questions in their brochures and websites. UQAM and McGill do hand out a bit of related information, mainly on employment issues. Both universities offer services of information and counselling to students with disabilities to find employment during and after their studies.

Most university career and placement services do not provide special workshops or adapted phone lines (TTY/ATS) for students with disabilities; however, the list of possible employment is usually available on the Internet and posted at the university placement office.

Over the phone, UQAM informed us that its career and placement service is not truly accessible. The service counts a lot on UQAM’s Service for Students with Disabilities which also receives direct information on jobs available to persons with a disability. The information is distributed to students each month.

McGill publishes a pamphlet for students with disabilities on using the McGill Career and Placement Service (CAPS). Workshops and counselling are offered on problems faced in a job search by persons with a disability.

At Université de Montréal, students with a disability have access to the same placement program as all other students. The Office for Students with Disabilities also cooperates on work integration with an association called AIM CROIT (IAM CARES) as does McGill.

Sherbrooke and Laval career and placement services are the same for all students. When the Offices for Students with Disabilities of those universities are contacted by businesses that have employment available for persons with a disability, office staff transmits these requests to students.

UQAM informs students that it has some sports equipment adapted for students with disabilities. On the other hand, the portion of the student’s fee that is allocated for sports can be reimbursed on presentation of an appropriate medical certificate. The Service for Students with Disabilities would like to see the sports centre made more accessible.

At Sherbrooke University, swimming pools and showers are accessible and there is a training centre for wheelchair athletes.

Université de Montréal told us that students with disabilities would face no particular limitations if they wish to engage in any athletic activities. Laval University also informed that students with disabilities can participate in most sports activities there.

McGill athletic facilities are accessible and assistance is available, if required, to use the pool, exercise room etc. Students enrolled in the Physical Education program have a disability access component and can assist students on a regular basis. Showers and washrooms are accessible.

Information is lacking regarding accommodation to aid participation of students with disabilities in university social events. Students who answered the survey expressed concerns regarding participation in social events and conferences because of the lack of accommodations such as access ramps or sign language. As is mentioned in earlier chapters of this Guide, social interaction can be quite important in building contacts that can assist students to succeed in law school and later in their legal careers.

The governing document of the Law Students’ Association at McGill Law School specifically disallows discrimination on the basis of disability and the Law Students’ Association has a less formal policy requiring all student events to be accessible. The Law School also has an association called Law Students with Disabilities, whose membership indicated that the law faculty and students at McGill have recently become more aware of the need to accommodate students with have disabilities in extracurricular activities, as well as in academic matters.

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