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 under the AODA. 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. Furthermore, Donovan outlines tactical recommendations the province should follow to fulfill its remaining responsibilities in the public sector. One of these tactical recommendations is a pilot project for social impact bonds to fund AODA compliance.
Social Impact Bonds to Fund AODA Compliance
The review states that one reason for the AODA’s limited implementation is cost. For example, some small private-sector organizations and medium-sized private-sector organizations do not have the resources to remove accessibility barriers. Likewise, funding to retrofit buildings in the public sector is also limited.
Therefore, the review recommends that the Ontario Financing Authority should find and assess potential investors in social impact bonds. These investors would begin a pilot project using these social impact bonds to fund large-scale accessibility improvements, such as building accessibility and the removal of long-standing barriers. Furthermore, the accessibility agency should publish the results of this pilot project.
In addition, the agency should research the public’s reaction to the idea of surcharges on some government services. These possible surcharges could be another source of funding for compliance with current and future standards under the AODA. Such surcharges could be comparable to surcharges that people pay in airports for the purpose of upkeep. In other words, the government and citizens of Canada have experience raising funds in this way.