Health card renewal online for persons with disability faces legal fight

In the wake of COVID-19, in-person physical gatherings are still restricted and seen as a health risk in Ontario. However, to renew a health card, online, a valid driver’s license is required.

This is viewed as discrimination according to disability advocates, against people who can’t drive or don’t have a license. ‘People who, like me, because of their disability, are absolutely disqualified from being able renew our health card online,’ said David Lepofsky, a Toronto lawyer and chair of the Accessibility for Ontarians With Disabilities Act Alliance. Lepofsky, who is blind, filed a Superior Court application against the provincial government seeking an urgent change to the rule