O A Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA): Was Implementation the Concession? AATEKA RAJAB
The Accessibility for Ontarians with a Disability Act (AODA) is ground-breaking legislation for all communities that value every person having access to an equitable standard of living for everyday life. In 2017, one in five Canadians over 15 years has had one or more disabilities and the prevalence ofdisabilities are increasing with age (Statistics Canada, 2017). Disability is an all-encompassing definition of visible and non-visible disabilities including: physical, vision impairment or blindness, auditory impairments or deafness, intellectual, development or learning disabilities and mental health disabilities (Legislative Assembly of Ontario, AODA, 2005). Although the legislation was slow moving, accessibility as a social movement was a way forward for disability communities to gain an accessible standard of living. This paper will address the history of AODA and the changes or lack thereof after public consultations, and will analyze the diverse interests, actors, institutions, and processes that impede on the implementation of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) (2005) in Ontario, Canada. The author will then present a case study on transportation system in Toronto – the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) – and highlight the current issues within the transportation standards to emphasize the pushback this social movement has received and the immense barriers to implement AODA for an equitable, accessible Ontario.
History
The American’s with Disability Act (ADA) was a piece of legislation that pushed Canada towards a conversation about human rights and equality prompting disability advocates to make accessibility legislation a reality in Ontario. In 1994, NDP MPP Gary Malkowski introduced a private members bill for the Ontario Disabilities Act (ODA). According to North (1990) public policy must begin with the individual (p. 5). Malkowski, was the first deaf MPP in Ontario, was a key actor who brought accessibility legislation to the forefront. There was interest in the bill amongst the disability community, but incredible frustration occurred at the public hearings for the proposed bill. As a result, 20 members who attended the public hearing at Queens Spark to spontaneously create the Ontarian’s with Disabilities Act Committee (Ontarians with Disabilities Act ODA Committee, 2004), reflecting the true beginnings of a social movement.
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