The ''Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005'' (AODA) is a

statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...

enacted in 2005 by the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

, Canada. Its purpose is to improve

accessibility Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...

standards for Ontarians with

physical Physical may refer to: *Physical examination In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally co ...

and

mental disabilities Mental may refer to: * of or relating to the mind Films * ''Mental'' (2012 film), an Australian comedy-drama * ''Mental'' (2016 film), a Bangladeshi romantic-action movie * ''Mental'', a 2008 documentary by Kazuhiro Soda * ''Mental'', a 2014 O ...

to all public establishments by 2025. Some businesses began taking steps to bring their organizations into compliance in 2005. Compliance deadline dates depend on the size of the institution and the sector in which it operates.

Ontarians with Disabilities Act

In 2001, the government of Ontario passed into law the ''Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001'', requiring the government to adopt practices that eliminate barriers to participation of individuals with disabilities. Such practices are adopted by consultation with groups and individuals affected by or representing those with disabilities. These include defining building and structure guidelines, only leasing properties compliant with the guidelines, and sourcing products which "must have regard to their accessibility for persons with disabilities". ''The Ontarians with Disabilities Act'' is the short title of the

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Government's Bill 125 - ''An Act to improve the identification, removal and prevention of barriers faced by persons with disabilities and to make related amendments to other Acts''. The Act received Royal Assent on 14 December 2001 and came into force on February 7, 2002. The Bill's original purpose had been to achieve a barrier-free Ontario for persons with disabilities—a right of full participation. The Act required all government ministries and municipal governments to prepare accessibility plans to identify, remove, and prevent barriers to participation throughout their operations. By 31 December 2002, all provincial websites were required to be accessible. Other institutions required to provide annual plans addressing accessibility issues included public transportation systems, hospitals, district school boards, universities, colleges of applied arts and technology, and other government agencies. Those who supported the idea of an ODA hoped that it would require government bodies, and others bound by law to identify the barriers that they now have which impede persons with disabilities from full participation, and to design reasonable plans consistent with their resources to remove these barriers and to prevent new ones from being created, all within reasonable timelines. They wanted it to allow for the enactment of regulations with input from disability groups, business interests and others, to set out measures to be implemented to achieve the ODA's goals and reasonable timelines for their achievement. It was meant to incorporate an effective, fair and timely process for enforcement. The legislation was regarded as weak, as it had no enforcement, imposed no penalties, and required no deadlines. Groups

lobbied In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

the government to improve the legislation.

Act

The scope of the legislation includes both public and private institutions. It targets the removal of barriers to participation. By 2015, five standards have been established as

regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. For ...

s enacted by the government. The first was the "''Customer Service Standard''", taking effect on 1 January 2008. This standard requires that individuals with disabilities are able "to obtain, use and benefit from goods and services". This includes businesses granting access to service animals and support people in publicly-accessible areas, provide accessible customer service, and implement a feedback system. The "''Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation''" took effect on 1 July 2011. It consisted of three component standards addressing accessibility of ''Information and Communications'', ''Employment'', and ''Transportation''. On 1 January 2013, the "''Design of Public Spaces (Built Environment)''" standard took effect, and became part of the "''Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation''".

Reviews

There have been two legislative reviews of AODA, which are conducted to assess the progress of implementing accessibility throughout the province. The first review was conducted by Charles Beer and published in February 2010. The second review was conducted by Mayo Moran and published in November 2014.

David Onley David Charles Onley (born June 12, 1950) is a former Canadian journalist who served as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario

, who served as

Lieutenant Governor of Ontario The lieutenant governor of Ontario (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''de l'Ontario'') is the viceregal representative in Ontario of the , who operates distinctly within the province bu ...

from 2007 until 2014, and who has partial paralysis as a result of childhood

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

, is a Special Advisor on Accessibility. The Accessibility Standards Advisory Council also provides advice to review committees.

Legacy

In 2015, a patron of a restaurant in

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Pro ...

and her daughter, previously a waitress at that restaurant, were awarded a combined because the owner refused service to the patron, who was accompanied by a registered

service animal Various definitions exist for a service animal. The Americans with Disabilities Act defines the term as "dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities". Dogs are the most common service animals, havi ...

. The

Ontario Human Rights Tribunal , logo = , logo_width = , logo_caption = , formed = , dissolved = , jurisdiction = Province of Ontario , headquarters = 25 Grosvenor Street Toronto, Ontario , minister1_name = Attorney General ...

stated that the owner discriminated against the customer on the basis of disability, and against the waitress on the basis of family status, as the owner prohibited the waitress from serving her mother. Barbara Turnbull, a quadriplegic

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

reporter, wrote in a memoir ebook that the government of Ontario has not enacted sufficient standards regulations to "ensure full accessibility by 2025". She advocated for enforced mandatory standards.

References

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

*
Accessibility
at the

Government of Ontario The government of Ontario (french: Gouvernement de l'Ontario) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor� ...

Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation
at the Ontario

Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure The Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade (formally known as Ministry of Economic Development and Growth) in the Canadian province of Ontario is responsible for programs to attract and retain business and economic development in ...

*
Text of the Ontarians with Disabilities ActOntarians with Disabilities Act Committee websiteAODA Web Accessibility and WCAGThe ultimate guide to website accessibility for AODA, Section 508 and WCAG 2.1 A/AA.
{{Disability navbox 2001 in Canadian law 2005 in Canadian law Disability legislation Disability in law Ontario provincial legislation Disability law in Canada 2005 in Ontario Disability in Canada