Canadian Transportation Agency, Canada Gazette, Part 1, Volume 153, Number 10, March 9, 2019 Persons with disabilities in Canada face barriers that affect their ability to fully participate in activities of everyday living, such as travel. Members of the disability community widely report that they face attitudinal barriers, as well as indirect barriers to participation…
Michelle McQuigge, The Canadian Press, CBC News, March 8, 2019 The accessibility law that took effect in Ontario 14 years ago and has served as a blueprint for similar legislation in other parts of Canada has fallen well short of its goals and continues to leave disabled residents facing daily, “soul-crushing” barriers, a former lieutenant…
Manitoba Disabilities Issues Office, February 20, 2019 In January 2018, The Manitoba Government appointed Theresa Harvey Pruden to conduct a mandatory review of the effectiveness of The Accessibility for Manitobans Act (AMA). The independent review focused on the processes, structures and activities undertaken in carrying out the purposes of the AMA, such as the accessibility…
Martin Regg Cohn, Ontario Politics Columnist, The Toronto Star, February 8, 2019 We all complain, habitually and self-pityingly, about punishing snowfalls. Especially lately. But for David Onley, the snow banks and other barriers never truly melt away. Last year, he was appointed to conduct a formal review of accessibility in Ontario and he has just…
Victoria Bibson, The Globe and Mail, January 30, 2019 Both the Ontario Autism Coalition (OAC) and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance (AODA) called on Education Minister Lisa Thompson to hold a summit of key stakeholders – including parents, teachers, principals, school boards and students – where they can discuss possible legislation and…
Shachi Kurl, Executive Director, Angus Reid Institute, January 22, 2019 Seven-in-ten Canadians say universal accessibility should be the goal for newly constructed buildings. A new study from the Angus Reid Institute, conducted in partnership with the Rick Hansen Foundation, finds more than two-thirds of Canadians expressing concern that someone in their lives will face such…
Greg Thomson, Author at Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, January 18, 2019 Pervading this brief is a fundamentally important question: Why is Ontario so far behind schedule for becoming accessible by 2025? How did Ontario find itself in this predicament over 13.5 years after the AODA was enacted, and less than 6 years before…
Carlos Sosa, member of the Board of Inclusion Winnipeg, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Manitoba Office, January 17, 2019 Recently the Manitoba Government made a decision to reject a core funding application from the Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities (MLPD) for the 2018-19 fiscal year. It can be very difficult for an organization to…
Caroline Alphonso, Education Reporter, The Globe and Mail, January 6, 2019 A Globe and Mail analysis found that families with children who have intellectual and developmental disabilities are increasingly being asked to pick up kids early, start the school day later or simply keep them home for days. Most school districts don’t formally track these…
Andrew Vaughan, The London Free Press, December 19, 2018 The cautious optimism that prevailed in Canada’s disabled community when the federal government tabled historic accessibility legislation earlier this year has given way to widespread concern that the law won’t lead to meaningful change. Major disability organizations, grassroots advocacy groups and disabled individuals said they’ve raised…
