Early adjournment for Ottawa Taxi trial January 30

Proceedings in the Ottawa Taxi trial ended at the noon hour today. The plaintiff’s lawyer Abdalla Barqawi finished his questioning of Deputy City Clerk Lesley Donnelly earlier than anticipated. A good deal of the morning’s cross-examination covered questions concerning Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).

Barqawi summarized his questions by pointing out that Ottawa is bound by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to ask the question: “If we make this change or that change, how would that effect the racialized group that the City itself knew was racialized and disadvantaged people – what about that obligation? You would agree that did not happen?”

“I can’t speak to obligations, Legal Services would speak to that,” Donnelly replied. “I would be on the receiving end of that.”