ODA By-Election Fact Sheet

1.5 MILLION ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES ARE COUNTING ON YOU Do you think children with disabilities should be able to play in parks with their friends and have access to a good education? Do you think people with disabilities should have the same access to health care and post-secondary education as everyone else? Do you think people with disabilities who are qualified should have the same chance to work as all other Ontarians? Like other Ontarians, the 1.5 million people with disabilities in Ontario want to go to school, get jobs, go out with friends and participate in every aspect of life. Right now they face many unnecessary barriers that prevent them from fully participating. Do you have a disability? If not, chances are someone close to you does. Chances are you will acquire a disability in your lifetime. If barriers are prevented and removed today, it will help you tomorrow. WHAT CAN BE DONE TO MAKE ONTARIO BARRIER-FREE? Ontario needs a strong new law to tear down barriers that keep people with disabilities from participating in every aspect of life. A strong Ontarians with Disabilities Act would do that. We are not asking for job quotas, just removal of barriers. Ask your candidates in the upcoming by-election whether they support a strong law. Tell them it's important to you in deciding who to vote for. WHERE DO THE PARTIES STAND? PCs: Mike Harris promised in writing before the 1995 election that he would pass the Ontarians with Disabilities Act in his first term in office. He never passed that law. HE BROKE THAT PROMISE. Six years later, he keeps stalling. Liberals: After pressing the Harris Government for years to keep their 1995 election promise, Dalton McGuinty promised that a Liberal Government would pass a strong Ontarians with Disabilities Act. NDP: After pressing the Harris Government for years to keep their 1995 election promise, Howard Hampton promised that an NDP Government would pass a strong Ontarians with Disabilities Act. DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN FOR A BARRIER-FREE ONTARIO? The Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee is a non-partisan coalition that believes Ontario will benefit when barriers are removed and prevented. We welcome your help. Please leave a voice mail message at (416) 480-7012, or use TTY to contact Susan Main at (416) 964-0023 ex. 343 or visit www.odacommittee.net YOUR VOTE CAN HELP MAKE ONTARIO BARRIER-FREE FOR 1.5 MILLION ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES. ASK AT THE ABOVE NUMBERS IF YOU NEED THIS IN AN ALTERNATIVE FORMAT.