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Introduction: Historical Background

The AODA is the latest in a series of public policy initiatives to protect people with disabilities from discrimination and remove barriers to their full participation in society. These initiatives were driven by persons with disabilities and the organizations that represent them.

Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Ontario Human Rights Code

The inclusion of persons with disabilities in the equality rights section of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, enacted in 1982 and effective in 1985, came about after lobbying by disability organizations. Many Ontarians with disabilities took part in this campaign. The Charter guarantees persons with disabilities equal protection and equal benefit of the law.

In 1982 Ontario added handicap to the prohibited grounds for discrimination in the Human Rights Code, which applies to the public, not-for-profit and private sectors. Ontarians with disabilities strongly advocated for this measure. The term “handicap” was changed to “disability” in 2002. Under the code, every person has a right to equal treatment without discrimination because of disability, with respect to services, goods, facilities, housing, employment, contracts and membership in trade unions, occupational associations and self-governing professions. The code requires employers, landlords and providers of goods, services and facilities to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities, unless doing so would cause undue hardship.

Building Code and Other Measures

Since 1975, the Ontario Building Code — a provincial government regulation — has advanced one aspect of accessibility by setting requirements for buildings. Recently improved ⁸, these provisions cover: entrances, such as ramps and width of doors; the path of travel, such as width of halls, floor areas and lighting; washrooms; signs; emergency exits; passenger loading zones; and parking.

Accessibility requirements under the Building Code apply to new buildings, including apartment, condominium, commercial and public buildings, and to some renovations. Houses are not covered, and owners and operators are not obliged to retrofit their buildings to meet current code requirements.

Other provisions to ensure equal treatment without discrimination for persons with disabilities are contained in such measures as the Blind Persons’ Rights Act, the Education Act, the Planning Act and the regulations under the Highway Traffic Act.

Origins of the Ontarians with Disabilities Act

It soon became apparent that the Charter and the Human Rights Code were not enough to remove and prevent the array of barriers that keep people with disabilities from participating in significant areas of life — such as jobs, education, access to information, public transportation, and the use of goods, services and facilities. Under these laws, it is largely up to persons with disabilities to enforce their own rights on a case by case basis. Change depends on costly, cumbersome and lengthy legal battles. Moreover, while imposing a duty to accommodate to the point of undue hardship, the code provides little direction to employers, educators, landlords, retailers and others on how to comply.

In fall 1994, a coalition of Ontarians with disabilities and community organizations formed a committee for the purpose of securing the passage of a new Ontario law to identify, remove and prevent barriers to full participation. During the 1995 election campaign, the Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee asked all three parties to pass this kind of act. The Progressive Conservative Party made a commitment to the ODA Committee to do so, if elected.

Following the election, the ODA Committee outlined a series of principles that the new legislation should embody. In October 1998, the legislature unanimously adopted a private member’s resolution calling on the government to bring in disability legislation based on the ODA Committee principles. The government tabled a bill the next month but it did not complete the legislative process. A new bill was brought forward after the 1999 election. The Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001 (ODA) was introduced and passed in December 2001.

Accessibility Bill Enacted

During the 2003 election campaign, the then Leader of the Opposition wrote to the ODA Committee promising to enact a stronger and more effective Ontarians with Disabilities Act. Shortly after the election, the new government began this work by conducting a series of roundtable meetings and regional public meetings. Held in early 2004, these sessions included representatives of obligated organizations — that is, those with obligations under the ODA — as well as representatives from disability groups and the private sector.

In October 2004, the government introduced the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). In considering the bill, a legislative committee held public hearings across Ontario in early 2005. Based on this input, the committee adopted a series of amendments to the bill. For example, to strengthen the government’s accountability for results, a requirement was added for a comprehensive review of the Act’s effectiveness after four years, with further reviews every three years.

The final version of the bill was passed by the legislature unanimously in May 2005. It received Royal Assent and took effect on June 13, 2005.

Although the AODA provides for repeal of the ODA on a date to be proclaimed, this has not been done and the ODA remains in force.

The ODA Committee, the driving force behind the creation of the AODA, has now been succeeded by the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance. This is a coalition of disability consumer advocacy groups that is monitoring the implementation of the legislation.

⁸ The 2006 Building Code includes new requirements for public corridors wide enough for modern wheelchairs and tactile signs to help people with visual impairments navigate through buildings. In addition, 10 per cent of the units in a new apartment building or hotel must include accessible features.