Many separate accessibility standards development processes exist in Canada. For example, Ontario, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia all have laws that mandate creation of provincial accessibility standards. In addition, the Accessible Canada Act mandates accessibility standards that apply to organizations under federal jurisdiction. However, the government of Canada intends to coordinate federal and provincial accessibility laws. Moreover, the third review of the AODA recommends that the Ontario government should support this aim by aligning its accessibility law, the AODA, with the laws of other provinces and the country. If the governments work together to make these laws more similar, the AODA standards development process may change to align with laws in other places across the country. In this article, we will explore federal standards for accessibility in the built environment.
Federal Standards for Accessibility in the Built Environment
The AODA has standards for the design of public spaces, but no standards for accessibility in other built environments. However, the Third Review of the AODA recommends improvements to all standards and laws governing buildings and public spaces. For example, these improvements include:
- Strengthening the Ontario Building Code and the Design of Public Spaces Standards
- New standards and incentives for retrofitting buildings
- Tax incentives and grants for housing accessibility
- Reforming how infrastructure projects are managed
In addition, the review recommends that future AODA standards should align with existing standards in other parts of the country.
For instance, Accessibility Standards Canada (ASC) and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA Group) have developed standards for accessibility in the built environment. Moreover, these standards include guidelines and technical requirements to make many elements of the built environment accessible. For example, these elements include:
- Entrances to accessible buildings
- Paths of travel within buildings
- Floors and carpets
- Seating
- Controls, such as:
- Door handles
- Window controls
- Light switches
- Electrical outlets
- Elevator controls
- Fire alarm pull stations
- Washrooms
- Signage
- Designs that remove barriers, including:
- Cognitive barriers
- Environmental barriers
- Acoustics
- Assistive listening systems
- Public telephones
- Parking
- Outdoor paths
- Intersections
- Transit stops
- Outdoor furniture and equipment, such as:
- Benches
- Mail boxes
- Garbage or recycling bins
- Landscaping
Therefore, future AODA standards may include some or all of these guidelines and requirements to make the built environment more accessible.
As a result, our next series of articles will explore requirements under the federal standards for accessibility in the built environment.