This page includes legal decisions that Canadian Association of the Deaf-Association des Sourds du Canada (CAD-ASC) has used the Canadian legal system to advance jurisprudence on the following issues:

  • The right of Deaf people to have interpreters in medical settings: Eldridge v. British Columbia (1997): A decision by the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed the right of Deaf Canadians to accessible services in medical and health care.
  • Vlug v. CBC (2000): This decision by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal was a landmark in establishing our right to captioning of all broadcast material. It was the first legal decision of this kind in the world. Henry Vlug was a former president of CAD-ASC and for many years was the only Deaf lawyer in Canada.
  • Canadian Association of the Deaf – Association des Sourds du Canada, James Roots, Gary Malkowski, Barbara La Grange, and Mary Lou Cassie v. Her Majesty the Queen (2006): The Federal court ruled that the federal government must provide interpreters for Deaf employees or non-employees for any meetings.