Ontario set a goal to be fully accessible by Jan. 1, 2025. It’s nowhere near, experts say
“We’re way behind and the government needs to revise its approach,” said David Lepofsky, a retired lawyer who spearheaded the campaign for the AODA, which became law in 2005.
Updated Jan. 1, 2025 at 4:17 p.m.
In the 2023 review of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), Rich Donovan declared that the province was in an accessibility crisis.
Donovan, a leading advocate on disability rights, highlighted one example of how the province fails to ensure the safety of people with disabilities: a routine fire drill at a government office.
While most employees made their way down the stairs in orderly fashion, “others — those using wheelchairs and managing vision issues — instead made their way to what was, in essence, a closet,” wrote Donovan, who was appointed to review the act.
“This was what they were told to do in a fire. Sit. Wait. Hope someone comes for you.”
The province set a goal to achieve full accessibility by Jan. 1, 2025 — a target advocates say we’re nowhere near meeting.
“We’re way behind and the government needs to revise its approach,” said David Lepofsky, a retired lawyer who spearheaded the campaign for the AODA, which became law in 2005. “All of those reviews spoke in increasingly scathing language.”
In a statement, the Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility said Ontario is “meeting, achieving or exceeding” AODA standards.
But disabled people who spoke to the Star told a different story, citing ongoing challenges and day-to-day barriers with accessibility and enforcement.
To assess where Ontario stands after the 2025 deadline for full accessibility has passed, they also provided a grade for each of the key AODA categories: transportation, customer service, public spaces, communications and employment.
Transportation: B for Wheel-Trans, D for TTC’s conventional system
Louise Bark hates having to ask for help on public transit — and that was before the installation of Plexiglas shields for driver safety on buses and streetcars, which she says makes it even harder.
Bark, who has been using a wheelchair for 20 years, said the physical design of the transit vehicles has improved, but getting assistance, such as having someone secure her wheelchair or lift a seat, has become more difficult, particularly on buses.
“Now it’s way worse. They don’t even come out of their cubby hole. Even when you try to ask them, it’s like they don’t hear you,” she said.
“The outcome is that it is not a pleasant experience to ride transit. You feel kind of humiliated. You feel rather helpless.”
She said her experience on the new streetcars has generally been good, except for at stops where there’s no curb cut, which makes it difficult to board. She also noted that the ramps are too steep.
While the subway system has also improved, she said her chief issue is the elevators at subway stations, which are often out of service or are too small to accommodate the number of people trying to use them.
Fifty-seven out of the TTC’s 70 subway stations currently meet AODA standards. However, the TTC reported in 2023 that it would not meet the province’s target of full accessibility by 2025. Six more subway stations are planned to be accessible in 2025, with another six in 2026.
As a result of the difficulties Bark faces with conventional transit, she mostly relies on Wheel-Trans, though she said transferring to another city remains a challenge.
Customer Service: F
The AODA requires all organizations, including businesses and public institutions like hospitals, to remove barriers in providing accessible customer support.
Brian Ellison, who uses a wheelchair, said too many businesses have not taken meaningful steps to accommodate disabled people.
More often than not, when he can’t reach a shelf while grocery shopping, it’s fellow customers — not staff — who assist him.
His experiences in hospitals have been particularly challenging. Once when he needed surgery, he gave three-months’ notice that he would require a room with an accessible washroom. When he arrived, he was told there were none available on that wing, and his only option was to use a washroom in the hallway.
He said there’s been numerous occasions where he’s had to crawl up onto a bed or examination table, because staff were either too busy or unwilling to help.
“It makes me furious. But what else can I do?”
Information and Communications: D-
The AODA’s information and communications standard requires organizations and companies to provide information in accessible formats, such as captions or audio descriptions, with some exceptions. One breakthrough in this area, according to Lepofsky, was the enactment of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, which provided clear, comprehensive requirements for website accessibility.
However, Lepofsky, who is blind, had no shortage of examples where the province is still falling behind. He said there are still too many hotels, elevators and transportation options that don’t offer information in braille.
He said when he travels to the U.S., it’s far more common to find accessibility features in taxis, for example on interactive video devices that speak to customers. He said we’re well behind other countries in accessibility.
“Forty years ago, I got into a taxi in New York City and that information was also on the seat in braille.”
Employment: D
While there have been strides in employers recognizing their legal obligation to accommodate employees with disabilities, the system still relies too much on accommodating individual workers, Lepofsky said, rather than addressing systemic barriers.
A recent report by the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work found that among workers who chose not to request accommodation, 45 per cent said they were uncomfortable asking their employer. For those who did ask, nearly one-quarter said their needs were not met.
Additionally, about one in 10 individuals with disabilities reported being denied employment because of their disability.
Anthony Frisina, who works with the Ontario Disability Coalition and uses a wheelchair, said there’s still too much stigma around hiring and accommodating people with disabilities.
“Companies need to genuinely invest in being equal-opportunity employers, not just say they are,” he said.
Design of public spaces: F
Between e-bikes and scooters, Ellison said Toronto’s streets and sidewalks often feel like a “nightmare.” Impatient drivers making sudden right turns and the general traffic situation in the city have also made crossing streets hazardous, he said.
“Until I get to the ramp in my building, I don’t feel safe,” Ellison said.
The design of public spaces standard primarily applies to outdoor spaces, such as sidewalks, playgrounds and recreational trails. Accessibility in indoor spaces (ramps in restaurants, public washrooms and buttons on doors) and the physical structure of buildings, fall outside of the AODA and are regulated by the Ontario Building Code, with some exceptions, such as service counters and indoor waiting areas.
Bike lanes were one of the most frequent issues raised among people who spoke to the Star. Lepofsky pointed to a bike lane on the same level as the sidewalk on Eglinton Avenue West, which is only separated by white paint.
“If I walk along there, I have no clue that I’m on a bike path,” he said. “So I am in incredible danger.”
For Bark, bike lanes have sometimes made it difficult for Wheel-Trans buses to pull up to the curb to pick her up.
“When you block people with disabilities from being able to get in and out of busses,” she said, “it’s just putting people in precarious positions.”