Twenty years ago, on June 13, 2005, the AODA took effect after all parties of the Legislature unanimously passed this ground-breaking law. This landmark legislation set 2025 as the target year for achieving accessibility in Ontario. Although there has been much progress, in the targeted year, that goal is largely unmet.
Over the past two decades, accessibility standards were regulated into law for preventing new barriers in transportation services; information and communications, such as documents, websites and emergency procedures; customer service, including use of service animals and support persons; employee recruiting and accommodation planning; public spaces like paths and recreational trails, play and eating areas, and parking; and staff training. Most regulated accessibility requirements for the built environment fall under Ontario’s Building Code but only apply to new construction and extensive renovations. Enforcing these standards, however, is a problem as new barriers are still created every day. Other accessibility standards are in development for elementary and postsecondary education, and healthcare, but have not yet become law.
AODA statutory review reports conclude little progress has been made to remove long-standing barriers. In his 2019 review, the Honourable David C. Onley said, “this province is mostly inaccessible” and the pace of change is “glacial.” The latest reviewer, Rich Donovan, concluded in his 2023 interim report that the AODA in its current form and practice is an “unequivocal failure.”
Barriers take many forms throughout the province and include access to transit services, public buildings and washrooms, and visitable and livable residential housing for people with mobility disabilities; print and information technology, signage and way finding for people with vision disabilities; assistive listening, captioning and sign language interpretation in public settings and online for people with hearing disabilities; as well as access to essential services like education and healthcare for a range of people with physical, cognitive, mental health or environmental sensitivity disabilities.
Accessibility is a legal right and obligation under domestic and international law. Governments in Canada must respect the equality rights of people with disabilities under the Charter of Rights and Freedom. They have a duty under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to make sure all places, products and services for the public are accessible to people with disabilities. In Ontario, the Human Rights Code provides that people with disabilities have the right to be free from discriminatory barriers in employment, vocational associations, housing, services, and contracts. All organizations have a legal duty to accommodate their needs, short of undue hardship. Yet, disability is by far the most frequent ground named in claims to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. The Code should be the law of last resort. Individuals should not have to litigate one barrier at a time. It is onerous, frustrating and an inefficient way to achieve universal accessibility.
Ontario’s AODA was meant to complement these laws and help fulfill people’s rights through regulated accessibility standards to remove existing barriers, not just prevent new ones. But so far, most regulated standards were not designed to apply retroactively.
Removing existing barriers will help benefit customers, employees, tenants with disabilities, and businesses alike. Universal access also makes life easier for families with young children and has a positive impact on everyone as we age. Accessible workplaces create opportunities for qualified individuals in new labour markets. People with disabilities spend money in stores and restaurants that are accessible. Retaining barriers hinders economic growth and limits the ability of all community members to participate equally.
The 20th anniversary of the AODA provides an opportunity for renewed leadership and conversation on achieving accessibility. It’s time to begin mandating the removal of long-standing barriers. It is time for a new comprehensive provincial plan with measurable milestones to truly realize the goal of the AODA.
For more than 25 years, the OHRC has published numerous submissions, reports, and policies on achieving accessibility for people with disabilities. The OHRC remains available to help advise on how best to take a human rights-based approach to achieving an accessible Ontario. In the meantime, the OHRC will continue to explore opportunities to use its broad functions and powers to promote and enforce accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities under the Human Rights Code.
Media contact:
Nick Lombardi
Senior Strategic Communications Advisor
Ontario Human Rights Commission
Email: nick.lombardi@ohrc.on.ca
A descriptive transcript for this video is available by visiting the following link: https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/make-ontario-accessible-20th-anniversary-aoda-english-transcript-video-description