Even though new legislation in the form of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) received Royal Assent on June 13, 2005 and is now the law, the planning requirements of the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001 (ODA) remain in force until the act is repealed.
Under the ODA, all municipalities have a legal obligation to prepare annual accessibility plans.
The ODA specifies that municipalities must consult with people with disabilities in preparing their accessibility plans. Municipalities of 10,000 or more residents are required to establish local accessibility advisory committees, and a majority of their members must be people with disabilities. These municipalities must consult with the committees as they prepare their plans. Municipalities with fewer than 10,000 residents are not obliged to form an accessibility advisory committee, but they are required to consult with people with disabilities in the preparation of their plans.
In preparing annual accessibility plans, municipalities must consider the following:
- The plans must address a broad range of disability issues, taking into account the full definition of disability under the ODA and the Ontario Human Rights Code.
- The plans must examine all aspects of the municipality’s operations, including its bylaws, practices, facilities, programs and services.
- Municipalities must take into consideration their roles as service providers and employers.
- The plans must identify steps to be taken over time to remove identified barriers and prevent any new ones.
- It is important that municipalities consider integrating accessibility planning into their business planning cycles to ensure a thoughtful, effective and efficient process and meaningful outcomes.
- All municipalities are accountable to their communities and, as such, must make their accessibility plans available to the public.