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Introduction: Broader Legal Developments

The legal environment surrounding accessibility continues to evolve. Two significant developments in particular bear watching.

The Government of Canada has tabled the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2006 and it is expected to be ratified soon. The convention provides that states should enact laws and other measures to improve disability rights, and also abolish legislation, customs and practices that discriminate against persons with disabilities. Among other obligations, states that ratify the convention undertake to promote universal design in the development of standards and guidelines, as well as research on and the use of universally designed goods, services, equipment and facilities. "Universal design" refers to the design of products, environments, programs and services to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation.

At the provincial level, in summer 2009, the Law Commission of Ontario launched a project on the laws as they affect persons with disabilities.