by Joel Harden, MPP
From time to time, a report comes along that rouses us from complacency and shows us the need for action. The release of Hon. David C. Onley’s Report on the Third Review of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) is one of those times.
As the official opposition critic for accessibility and people with disabilities, I have heard repeatedly from disability advocates that Ontario is woefully behind the goal, established by the AODA, of full accessibility by the year 2025. In fact, new barriers continue to be erected, some of which are funded by public investment.
The Onley Report confirms and expands upon these warnings from the disability community. In blunt and eloquent language, the report excoriates the slow pace of change and characterizes it as a civil rights issue. In his introduction, Onley movingly lays out how this slow pace of change negatively impacts people with disabilities:
“Every day, in every community in Ontario, people with disabilities encounter formidable barriers to participation in the vast opportunities this province affords its able-bodied residents…For most disabled persons, Ontario is not a place of opportunity but one of countless, dispiriting, soul-crushing barriers.”
This is more than a report, it’s a wake-up call. Nearly two million Ontarians with disabilities are fed up with waiting for their rights to be respected. It’s time for urgent action to dismantle barriers – physical, attitudinal, architectural or technological – that prevent people with disabilities from living their fullest lives.
In his report, Onley lays out 15 recommendations for how Ontario can get back on track towards becoming a fully accessible province. Among the most notable is implementing a requirement that public money is never used to erect new barriers.
New buildings, including those constructed on the public dime (Ryerson’s Student Learning Centre is one particularly egregious example), are being erected that are simply not accessible. Moreover, residential housing is generally exempt from accessibility standards.
Onley suggests developing new comprehensive standards for the built environment covering new and newly renovated buildings. He also identifies a need to provide mandatory training to design professionals, including architects, so that accessibility is also top of mind during the design phase of a project.
Finally, he advocates reform of the way public sector infrastructure projects are managed by Infrastructure Ontario to promote accessibility and prevent new barriers.
We’re calling on the government to move swiftly in implementing all 15 of Onley’s recommendations. I’m pleased that after an open letter from our office urging him to do so, the Minister for Seniors and Accessibility acted on one of them by unfreezing committees working to make health care and education more accessible. This is a first step, and one that must be followed by action on the other recommendations.
Our office hosted an accessibility town hall at the legislature to hear directly from those affected by Ontario failing to meet AODA targets on April 10. We were glad to have the chance to hear from experts and those who have lived experience encountering and working to dismantle barriers.
Do you have ideas to share with us about how to improve accessibility in our community? Send us your thoughts at jharden-qp@ndp.on.ca.