Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee

ODA Committee HomepageFactsheet; the Ontarians with Disabilities Act CommitteeWhat's New on the ODA Committee websiteCorrespondence between the ODA Committee and the Ontario GovernmentODA Committee Press ReleasesHansard from the Ontario Legislature re: ODAODA Committee Action Kits and TipsContact the ODA CommitteeOrganizational Members of the ODA
Who are we?Major ODA DocumentsODA News BriefsODA HandoutODA PamphletODA PostersRegional ODA EventsFree Membership form to Join the ODA Committee

Please Support a Strong & Effective ODA

 

ODA Committee Update
dated Oct. 13, 2004
posted Oct. 13, 2004

ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT COMMITTEE UPDATE

New Disability Bill Gets Immediate Media Attention

October 13, 2004

SUMMARY

Yesterday's introduction and first reading of the proposed Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) has gotten immediate coverage on CBC TV, Global TV, TV Ontario and various newspapers. We understand that Cable Pulse 24 may have an item on this tonight somewhere between 9 and 10 p.m. for a few minutes,
barring last minute changes. .

Below please find articles on this in:

* The Globe and Mail October 13, 2004

* The Toronto Star October 13, 2004

* The Ottawa sun October 13, 2004 and

* The Toronto Star on-line edition October 12, 2004

 

Links to online articles at the Source...

Ontario proposes new disability law to cover business
The Globe and Mail (subscription)

By RICHARD MACKIE. The 1.5 million Ontario residents with disabilities took
a big step yesterday toward full accessibility in restaurants ...

Liberal legislation to mandate equal access for disabled
Toronto Star, Canada

Tougher standards will ensure Ontario will be barrier free for disabled
persons in 20 years, Premier Dalton McGuinty said yesterday before
legislation on ...

Full disabled access by 2024
Toronto Star, Canada

Ontario will become fully accessible for the disabled in 20 years through
legislation to phase in new regulations for businesses, Premier Dalton
McGuinty said ...

Ontario legislation mandates equal access for disabled
National Union of Public and General Employees, Canada

New standards announced Tuesday by the Liberal government of Premier Dalton
McGuinty will be phased in after consultations with business groups and the
disabled ...

Province Looks To Help Disabled
580 CFRA Radio, Canada

The Ontario Government has introduced legislation it says will make the
province fully accessible for the disabled within 20 years. ...

Bill aims at total access for the disabled
Ottawa Citizen, Canada

TORONTO -- Ontario is introducing legislation it says will make the province
fully accessible for the disabled within 20 years. ...

Disability legislation overhaul to phase in new access rules for ...
Canoe.ca, Canada

By KEITH LESLIE. TORONTO (CP) - Premier Dalton McGuinty pledged Tuesday to
make Ontario fully accessible to the disabled within 20 ...

Disability legislation overhaul to phase in new access rules for ...
Canada East, Canada

TORONTO (CP) - Premier Dalton McGuinty pledged Tuesday to make Ontario fully
accessible to the disabled within 20 years as his Liberal government introduced ...

Send us any media you see, and also send us your feedback at: oda@odacommittee.net

For a short 4-page chronology of the 10 year grass roots campaign that brought us to this point, visit: www.odacommittee.net/161.html


*****

 

The Globe and MailWed., October 13, 2004
National News, Wednesday, October 13, 2004, p. A9

Ontario proposes new disability law to cover business

Richard Mackie

The 1.5 million Ontario residents with disabilities took a big step
yesterday toward full accessibility in restaurants, stores, public transit
and other services, with the introduction of legislation to force compliance with
long-sought standards.

An estimated 350,000 public agencies and private businesses will have to
meet standards giving access to people who are deaf, blind, in wheelchairs
or have mental disabilities.

The maximum time for setting the standards and for complying with them is 20
years, with targets to be set at five-year intervals.

Twenty years is a long time but not unacceptable to the 12 per cent of
Ontarians with disabilities, said David Lepofsky, who has led the fight for
standards for 10 years.

"This is a very good bill for people with disabilities," said Mr. Lepofsky,
a practising lawyer who is blind. He is with the Ontarians with Disabilities
Act Committee, which helped draft the proposed law. It is to be called the
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

"We know that you can't make Ontario barrier-free overnight. This bill sets
a time frame, not only for the end result but for making progress along the
way. . . . Some barriers can come down overnight. Some are going to take a
little longer. And some are going to take a lot longer," he explained.

"This bill also doesn't just leave it to people to do whatever they want. It
provides standards and gives both people with disabilities and business a
chance to sit down at the table to work out those standards."

The biggest change, he stressed, is that it will apply to private
businesses, whereas existing legislation covers only the public sector.

The bill got a positive reception from the Progressive Conservatives. Former
citizenship minister Cam Jackson said, "We can only express our appreciation
for anything that advances the cause for disabled people in our province."

But he questioned who will pay to provide accessibility.

Michael Prue of the New Democratic Party was more critical of the details.
"There is no intervenor funding. The regulations are not spelled out. And
the 2025 date is certainly not acceptable to us or the people [representing
those with disabilities] who are working on this bill."

Citizenship Minister Marie Bountrogianni introduced the legislation and
promised "strong enforcement mechanisms" to back the standards for
accessibility and the time frames for meeting them. The time frames will be
determined in consultation with representatives of business and of those with
disabilities.

"This is an issue that touches everyone who has a family with a neurological
disorder, every Ontarian with a parent who is losing eyesight, every person
with a loved one in a wheelchair," she said.

John Walter, senior director with the Canadian Standards Association, said
the legislation will impose standards that the CSA has developed for
industries
that provide customer services to people with disabilities.

These standards go beyond ensuring there are ramps in addition to stairs at
entrances and providing Braille elevator numbers, he said.

"The standards answer questions asked by those in business such as, 'What
would I do in my business to make this accessible for persons with
disabilities?' " Mr. Walter said.

"If you are building a house, for example, you might think to put the closet
on the second floor above the closet on the first floor so if somebody goes
into that house and needs an elevator, they've already got the shaft built
into the house. That's the kind of thing the standard requests you to look
at," he said.

*****


Toronto Star
News, Wednesday, October 13, 2004, p. A04

Liberal legislation to mandate equal access for disabled

Richard Brennan
Toronto Star; Canadian Press

Tougher standards will ensure Ontario will be barrier free for disabled
persons in 20 years, Premier Dalton McGuinty said yesterday before
legislation on accessibility was introduced at Queen's Park.

Despite the long timeline, activists for the disabled community are
heralding the legislation as a breakthrough.

The new standards forcing construction of such things as wheelchair ramps
will be phased in after consultations with businesses and the disabled.

Citizenship Minister Marie Bountrogianni, who introduced the legislation,
said there will be "tough penalties" - fines of up to $50,000 for an
individual and $100,000 for a corporation.

There are 1.5 million Ontarians living with disabilities, but McGuinty said
that number is expected to double in the next 20 years as baby boomers age.

Ontario Human Rights Commission chief Keith Norton has written to 20
restaurant chains asking them to voluntarily do more to help disabled
customers use their businesses.

The current disabilities act, introduced by the previous Conservative
government in 2001 and largely voluntary, "has no teeth," said
Bountrogianni.

She told reporters after the bill was tabled that the plan is to phase in
change, including making 25 per cent of public and private transportation
fleets accessible within five years.

But she said not to expect all public and private buildings to be made
accessible until 2025.

"The main difference between the former (disability) act and this act is
that there will be mandatory standards ... there will be compliance and
there will be fines if not enforced," she said.

"We want Ontario to lead in providing accessibility for people with visible
and invisible disabilities ... this is a human and economical potential that
we cannot afford to overlook," Bountrogianni said.

David Lepofsky, chair of the Ontarians With Disabilities Act Committee,
praised the bill.

"This bill is actually a very good bill (which) includes the key ingredients
that we have been looking for ... it will apply to all sectors ... and will
have enforcement ... and it sets timelines in which it has to be done."

Said the NDP's Peter Kormos (Niagara Centre): "Twenty years is an
embarrassment ... it guarantees that at least one more generation of
Ontarians with disabilities is going to be denied access," Kormos said.

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce welcomed the phase-in approach, saying
businesses need time to absorb the costs associated with making their
facilities accessible to all.

"Basically, every business is going to be impacted by this," said
spokesperson Brad Dugard.

The Ontario Association of Municipalities also welcomed the inclusion of the
private sector in the new legislation, and said most local governments "have
already made great strides toward making communities barrier free."

*****

 

Ottawa Sun
Wed, October 13, 2004

Grits to open province to disabled
By ANTONELLA ARTUSO,
Queen's Park Bureau

TORONTO -- As simple an act as going to the doctor can be a headache for
disabled Ontarians, according to activist David Lepofsky who yesterday
welcomed new accessibility legislation introduced by the provincial government.
Lepofsky said the legislation will require the public and private sectors to
address barriers to almost every facet of everyday life from public transit to
shopping, and from education to employment.

"Where we face barriers is, regrettably, everywhere," said Lepofsky, who is
blind and chairman of the Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee.

Premier Dalton McGuinty hailed his own legislation as "landmark," saying
that it will lead to a completely accessible province within 20 years.

CONSULTATIONS

Marie Bountrogianni, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, said the
government will consult with all sectors and issue on-going regulations and
timelines that will be enforced.

A small convenience store may have to provide ramps by a certain deadline,
while a large chain could be asked to provide appropriate counter heights
and enlarge doors, she said.

Improving access to public transit will be a priority.

The government will give businesses time to build improvements into their
regular capital investments, she said.

NDP MPP Peter Kormos said that without government funding to back it up, the
legislation is nothing more than a public relations exercise.

He said small businesses, non-profit groups, churches and even
municipalities will have difficulty making changes without financial
support.

Kormos also questioned why the Grits would set a 20-year timeline.

"Twenty years is way too long -- that guarantees that at least one more
generation of Ontarians with disabilities are going to be denied access," he
said. "And that is simply not acceptable."


*****

 

Toronto Star Website Tuesday, October 12, 2004

SEAN WHITE/TORONTO STAR

Full disabled access by 2024
Current legislation 'has no teeth,' Liberals say

FROM CANADIAN PRESS

Premier Dalton McGuinty pledged today to make Ontario fully accessible to
the disabled within 20 years as his Liberal government introduced
legislation to phase in new accessibility regulations for businesses.
Better access for the disabled is "good for our businesses and it's good
for our economy," McGuinty said as he introduced a new Ontarians with
Disabilities Act as the first piece of legislation of the fall session.

"Ontarians with disabilities have roughly $10 billion in annual consumer
spending power. That's a lot of spending to benefit Ontario businesses."

The legislation calls for separate consultations with large and small
businesses, the manufacturing and retail sectors as well as the disabled to
better determine what standards would be required and when they would be
introduced.

"Before we can declare Ontario fully accessible, it will take 20 years,"
McGuinty said. "I think we can move forward in many areas long before
that."

McGuinty claimed the 20-year deadline is actually "more ambitious" than the
goals of other countries considered world leaders in access, noting
Australia set a goal of 30 years and the United States 25 years for their
new standards.

"It is gradual, but inexorable, and we'll determine which are those that we
are going to do within the first five years," he said.

There are 1.5 million Ontarians living with disabilities, but McGuinty said
that number is expected to double in the next 20 years as the baby boomers
age and become more frail.

The current disabilities act, introduced by the previous Conservative
government in 2001, "has no teeth," said Citizenship Minister Marie
Bountrogianni, who is responsible for the new bill. "It is weak."

Bountrogianni said the new act would include tougher standards and better
enforcement to make sure businesses become more accessible for the
disabled.

"Our proposed legislation calls for standards and timelines to be developed
jointly by the private sector, the public sector and the disability
community," she said.

But critics had little positive to say about the legislation.

"In reality it's very, very vague," complained Conservative critic Garfield
Dunlop.

"(McGuinty is) trying to get a very positive story out of what is probably
going to be the beginning of a very, very negative session for this
government."

The New Democrats called the new legislation a public-relations exercise
and say the only thing the government is doing is holding more public
consultations.

"Twenty years is an embarrassment," said NDP house leader Peter Kormos.

"It guarantees that at least one more generation of Ontarians with
disabilities are going to be denied access."

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce welcomed the phase-in approach, saying
businesses need time to absorb the costs associated with making their
facilities accessible to all.

"Basically, every business is going to be impacted by this," said chamber
spokesman Brad Dugard.

"The best solution for businesses is to continue to work with the
government to minimize those impacts, and at the same time make the changes
that we need."



 

 

 

 

Go to Top of Page Top of Page

 

Index Page   |  Action Kits & Tips  | 


Website maintained by Barbara Anello

Please email your feedback on the website.

Page last updated Oct. 13, 2004