About
David Baker is associate counsel in the Labour & Employment Law and Human Rights Law Groups at Ross & McBride.
David is a towering figure in human rights law, celebrated for his profound impact on fairness and equality under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Over a legal career spanning more than four decades, he has become synonymous with precedent-setting litigation that has advanced the rights of persons with disabilities and other marginalized communities.
His litigation before the Supreme Court of Canada, in particular, includes a number of landmark cases. In Council of Canadians with Disabilities v. VIA Rail Canada Inc., David successfully argued that federally regulated carriers must make every effort to accommodate passengers with disabilities. This resulted in VIA Rail retrofitting its rail cars to make them fully accessible for passengers using personal wheelchairs. In another notable case, Grismer v. Superintendent of Motor Vehicles, David’s skills and experience as a litigator resulted in provincial transport ministries being deemed responsible to accommodate the special needs of a licence applicant with a disability.
Beyond the courtroom, David’s contributions have helped shape public policy and the legal profession as a whole. At the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law, he established Canada’s first legal aid clinic housed within a psychiatric hospital. As the founding executive director of ARCH (Advocacy Resource Centre for the Handicapped), he spearheaded its mission to pursue precedent-setting cases that dismantle systemic barriers. David has also provided counsel to parliamentary committees, trained judges, mentored fellow lawyers, and served on committees such as UNESCO’s Panel of International Human Rights Experts
David served as an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law, where he taught an access-to-justice course focused on enabling disadvantaged litigants to achieve just outcomes against more advantaged opponents. His ultimate aim was to equip future lawyers to navigate and challenge systemic inequities. Over the years, his work has been recognized with numerous awards and accolades, including the Law Society Medal (1998), an honorary Doctor of Sacred Letters from Trinity College, University of Toronto (2007), and the Gerry Bloomfield Volunteer Award from Autism Ontario (2023).
Today, as associate counsel at Ross & McBride, David largely focuses on Constitutional cases that have the potential to shape Canadian society for generations, including class actions addressing disability discrimination in education and public policy. Although not actively seeking new casework apart from class actions, and constitutional/international law, he will ensure clients seeking assistance are referred appropriately within the firm and frequently mentors on large files. He continues to practice law while serving as an advisor to various boards and commissions serving as secretary to the Dickson Circle Committee of the Inclusive Commons [TIC] and coordinating its case development.
David grew up in Toronto believing it was right to stand outside the fence, if that was the principled place to be. His mother, an early feminist, and his father, a progressive with Mennonite roots, encouraged him to use law as an instrument of social change. He shared his passion for justice and human rights with his lifetime partner of 50 years, noted health policy public servant, criminologist and academic Birthe Jorgensen, who recently passed away. With Birthe, he had two children, Zeke and Stoney.
Areas of Law
