Canada

Residents of subsidized housing for seniors and people with disabilities sued the nonprofit Housing Society that managed the housing for discrimination based on their physical disabilities. The residents claimed that the Housing Society failed to reasonably accommodate their disabilities by exposing them to secondhand smoke, which exacerbated their disabilities. The court dismissed the complaint, finding that that the Housing Society took reasonable steps to accommodate the residents and limit their exposure to secondhand smoke, including offering different units for relocation, adopting a smoking policy, changing the lease agreement for new tenants to prohibit smoking, maintaining and inspecting the ventilation system, and moving a “smoking pit” farther away from the building. The court said that the steps taking by the Housing Society were reasonable and that residents sought a “perfect and preferred” accommodation rather than a reasonable accommodation.