In the fourth review of the AODA, Rich Donovan states that Ontario will not be fully accessible by 2025. In other words, the provincial government will not meet its own deadline, set out in the AODA in 2005. Limited creation, implementation, and enforcement of AODA standards impacts the well-being and safety of Ontarians with disabilities. Therefore, Donovan recommends that the Ontario government should declare this lack of progress on accessibility a crisis. This crisis state should last six (6) months. During this time, the Ontario government should form a crisis committee to implement crucial accessibility improvements in the province. The Premier should act as the chair of this committee, and the Secretary of Cabinet should act as co-chair. One of the improvements the committee should implement is the creation of an agency to oversee AODA enforcement and other accessibility initiatives.
Agency to Oversee AODA Enforcement and Other Accessibility Initiatives
Every review of the AODA discusses a lack of government leadership to implement the Act. Furthermore, the lack of AODA enforcement applies not only to organizations in the public and private sectors, but to the provincial government itself. While some government ministries have developed accessibility initiatives, they have not publicized their best practices or actionable steps. As a result, ministries cannot learn from each other’s efforts. In short, all ministries need to work together. Moreover, the government must be held accountable for enacting and enforcing its own law.
Recommendations
Therefore, the fourth review recommends that the crisis committee should establish an agency to oversee the AODA and other accessibility initiatives. This agency will:
- Support cities and the province working together on accessibility initiatives
- Oversee ministries implementing AODA recommendations
- Research
- Gather, analyze, and publicize data about people with disabilities
- Consult with stakeholders
- Oversee enforcement of the AODA in the public sector
The agency should report to either the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation, and Trade or the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery. The crisis committee must find sources of funding to operate the agency.