Have you been diagnosed with depression and are you wondering if it is considered a disability in Ontario? Experiencing symptoms of depression can be both debilitating and immobilizing. It leaves those suffering through it unable to work or do much of anything other than deal with a complex emotional state of sometimes overwhelming despair. 

 

Experiencing depression can be devasting, both personally and professionally, physically and emotionally, not to mention financially if one is rendered unable to go to work. Mental illnesses and mental health issues affect millions of Canadians every year, costing the economy billions and costing some people their lives due to inadequate societal support systems. 

 

Mental Health Commission of Canada

 

Back in 2013, the Mental Health Commission of Canada released a report outlining the staggering societal, economic, and personal costs associated with mental illnesses like depression. Since its release, it’s been one of the most widely cited studies on the economic and societal costs of depression and mental health issues affecting Canadians, painting a stark and ugly picture of a nationwide crisis that is finally getting the recognition it deserves in the mainstream public conversation.

 

Indeed, the report illustrated an alarming and frightening number of trends around mental health in Canada. For example, the commission’s study found that young people often in their prime earning years “are among the hardest hit by mental health problems and illnesses.” 

 

Mental health issues

 

(Source: MHCC) 

 

According to the commission’s report, more than one in five Canadians experience mental health issues at some point in their lives. Meanwhile, a vast majority of employers reported that mental health issues such as depression accounted for nearly a third of short and long-term disability claims, making mental health a “top driver” of disability claims across the country.  

 

 

(Source: MHCC) 

 

Given Ontario’s population of nearly 15 million people, that means nearly three million Ontarians are affected by mental health issues annually. Faced with these nearly unimaginable numbers, the cost to the Canadian economy is staggering, the MHCC study found, pegging the annual cost of health care, social services, and income supports at $50 billion a year. 

 

“Over the next 30 years the total cost to the economy will have added up to more than 2.5 trillion,” the MHCC report states. 

 

Depression as a Disability in Ontario

 

With millions of Ontarians experiencing issues related to depression and mental illness every year, the question of whether they’re “disabled” under the law can still be difficult to answer. Even with a doctor’s diagnosis and medical evidence showing a person is disabled by their mental health issues such as depression, employers, insurance companies, and governments may still be reticent to extend benefits to people in such dire circumstances. 

 

Reluctance on the part of companies and governments to recognize a person’s disability also stems from the stigma of a so-called “invisible” illness. Someone experiencing depression can hide behind a fake smile and mask their pain, the way someone who uses a wheelchair or who walks with a cane simply cannot. 

 

If you’ve been denied short or long-term disability benefits by an insurance company, government, or an employer, getting a lawyer may be an important step in getting the benefits you deserve. At ClearWay, we can connect you with a lawyer who specializes in disability claims that have been wrongfully denied.

 

Once you’ve contacted ClearWay, a lawyer in our burgeoning network can lay out your options depending on your situation. These options could include suing an insurance company in court or taking an employer to an administrative tribunal such as Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal. 

 

 

Employers’ Duties to Accommodate Workers with Disabilities and Depression in Ontario

 

Employers in Ontario, and nationwide for that matter, are under a duty to accommodate individuals with disabilities, whether those disabilities are physical or mental. Provincial and federal human rights codes establish this duty on employers, while courts are often the forum that sees insurance companies held accountable should they wrongfully deny benefits to a person with mental health issues.

 

“In many of the human rights and labour arbitration cases concerning this issue, courts and tribunals were faced with deciding whether an employer’s duty to accommodate had been triggered. Jurisprudence establishes that the employer and employee have corresponding obligations with respect to the accommodation process.

 

Employees have a duty to identify the barriers they are facing on the job due to their disability and to relay this information to the employer,” wrote legal policy specialist Nicholas Caivano in an article for the Canadian Journal of Human Rights in 2016. 

 

 

Canada’s Courts and Administrative Tribunals Deal With Disabilities Including Depression

 

Canada’s courts, meanwhile, are generally unfriendly forums for those who would deny benefits to people with disabilities including depression. Oftentimes, depression is related to workplace injuries, car accidents, job losses, and family tragedies, while also being coupled with other disorders such as post-traumatic stress, addiction, and anxiety. 

 

One of the most important legal precedents in Canada related to punitive damages awards involves a case against the Sun Life Assurance Company. The Supreme Court of Canada in the case of Fidler v. Sunlife found that a punitive damages award from an appellate court to a woman named Connie Fidler, who had been diagnosed with chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia, had to be tossed aside despite “troubling” conduct by the insurance company. 

 

The issue in Fidler’s case was whether Sun Life had engaged in bad faith conduct to warrant punitive damages. The lower court found it hadn’t, instead awarding $20,000 in compensation for the stress related to the insurer’s breach of the disability insurance contract. 

 

Disability in Ontario

 

But on appeal, she was granted $100,000 in punitive damages, which the Supreme Court eventually kiboshed since she’d already been compensated by the general damages awarded at trial. 

 

The question in each case is whether the denial was the result of the overwhelmingly inadequate handling of the claim or the introduction of improper considerations into the claims process,” the SCC panel ruled. “The termination of benefits relating to an unobservable disability in the absence of any medical evidence indicating an ability to return to work represents conduct that is troubling, but not sufficiently so as to justify interfering with the trial judge’s conclusion that there was no bad faith. “

 

 

Administrative Tribunals

 

Administrative tribunals, like Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal, also handle claims of workers injured on the job who may develop depression after their injury. A number of decisions, which can be read online, detail the plights of injured workers who can seek greater benefits on appeal for a whole host of reasons including loss of earnings, psychodramatic disabilities, also accounting for whether the injury can be characterized as a “permanent impairment.”

 

Conclusion: Is Depression Considered a Disability in Ontario?

 

It’s overwhelmingly true that depression is considered a disability in Ontario. But since it’s up to courts and tribunals in Ontario to handle disputes over whether your depression diagnosis constitutes a disability, getting the right lawyer in your corner is essential in the fight for benefits and entitlements. ClearWay can help guide you to the right legal representation if you’re dealing with a dispute with your employer or insurance company over disability benefits for depression.

 

 The legal process associated with fighting insurance companies, employers, and even governments over disability benefits can be extremely complex and time-consuming, and exceptionally difficult for those with mental health issues. 

 

Here at ClearWay, while we can’t offer a miracle cure or recommend an effective treatment plan, we’re confident that we can connect you with a lawyer that’s right for you with the experience needed to ensure you get what you deserve during difficult times. In other words, we’d like to believe ClearWay’s lawyer referral services can offer at least a little peace of mind to those gearing up for a conflict. 

 

We hope you found this guide on if depression is considered a disability helpful.