The Legislative Assembly passed the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 on June 13, 2005, making Ontario the first jurisdiction in Canada to create comprehensive accessibility standards in all areas of daily life.
The act sets out the framework by which we — the business community, the public sector, the not-for-profit sector and people with disabilities or their representatives — can make Ontario accessible to all people by 2025. (The year 2025 is the end point, not the starting point.) This will be done by developing, implementing and enforcing mandatory accessibility standards for many of the most important areas of our lives.
These standards will:
- apply to businesses, public sector organizations (hospitals, schools, community colleges, universities, public transportation organizations), municipalities and the provincial government, and
- address the full range of disabilities, including physical, sensory, mental health, developmental and learning.