ACCESSIBILITY FOR ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT ALLIANCE UPDATE
If you don't now receive our updates directly from us, sign up for AODA Alliance e-mail updates by writing to our new email address: aodafeedback@gmail.comFollow us on Twitter and get others to do so as well! Twitter.com/aodaalliance
Learn more at: www.aodaalliance.org
UNITED FOR A BARRIER-FREE ONTARIO
BITS AND PIECES OF IMPORTANT NEWS ON THE CAMPAIGN FOR A FULLY-ACCESSIBLE ONTARIO
March 30, 2012
SUMMARY
Here are
selections of important news and upcoming events of interest to all who support
our campaign for a fully-accessible
1. On
April 3 and April 16, 2012, the City of Toronto will be holding public
consultations on the need for more accessible taxis in Toronto. It is important
for as many as possible to attend from the disability community. See the City's
announcement, below, for more details.
We have
been campaigning for much stronger measures across
2. We
are honoured that AODA Alliance chair David Lepofsky has been invited to be the
keynote speaker at the April 25, 2012 40th anniversary celebration of
the important work of Hamilton Ontario's Path Employment Services. See the
announcement below.
Path
Employment Services' work helping our accessibility campaign goes as far back as
the early years of the work of our predecessor coalition, the Ontarians with
Disabilities Act Committee. Path did important work,
helping spearhead the ODA Committee's
efforts on the ground in
3. On
May 10, 2012, the Toronto Transit Commission is holding its 2012 annual Public
Forum on Accessible Public Transit. See the announcement below. Originally, in
2007, the Human Rights Tribunal ordered TTC to hold three such annual forums, as
part of the case that David Lepofsky won, forcing TTC to audibly announce all
bus and streetcar route stops. Now the Integrated Accessibility Regulation,
enacted under the AODA, requires all public transit authorities to hold such
annual public forums. This gives transit passengers with disabilities a chance,
face-to-face, to tell TTC leadership about barriers they face when trying to
ride TTC.
4. The
Law Commission of Ontario has released a draft framework on the law as it
affects persons with disabilities. See its announcement below for more on this
important document, and on how you can provide input to the Law Commission of
Ontario up to May 2, 2012.
5. For
those who want even more news than we provide on accessibility issues in our
AODA Alliance Updates, here are some useful resources for you to consider:
* Follow
the AODA Alliance on Twitter @aodaalliance
* Sign
up for Accessibility News. It is a great weekly email update on accessibility
issues, which we enjoy receiving ourselves! Send your request to sign up to
info@accessibilitynews.ca
* Sign
up for email updates from Barrier-Free Manitoba, our colleagues in
* Follow
Barrier-Free
* Sign up for email updates on accessibility from the Ontario Government. Visit here:
.
*****
TAKEN FROM THE CITY OF TORONTO WEBSITE AT:
How Do
We Improve Accessibility In The Taxicab Industry?
Persons
and organizations with an interest in the taxicab industry are invited to share
their input at the consultations mentioned below. We will discuss:
customer
needs
accessibility issues
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)
on-demand service and other modes of service
other
concerns raised by participants.
Those
unable to attend are encouraged to submit their comments online, or by email,
letter or telephone.
Topic:
Accessibility - Separate Consultations for Riders and Providers
Tuesday,
April 3, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
City
Hall Members Lounge
9 - 12
p.m. for riders and their advocates.
1 - 4
p.m. for service providers
Topic:
Accessibility - Joint Consultation for Riders and Providers
Monday,
April 16, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
City
Hall Members Lounge
We have
one session for both those who use accessible service and those who provide
accessible service.
Riders'
sessions will include ASL interpreters and support workers for assistance.
Please note that in the event of a labour disruption, the website below will be
updated to advise if these meetings will continue as scheduled or be postponed.
*****
APRIL 25, 2012 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF HAMILTON ONTARIO'S PATH EMPLOYMENT SERVICES
TAKEN FROM THE WEBSITE OF PATH EMPLOYMENT SERVICES HERE:
JOIN
PATH IN CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY
Wednesday, April 25th, 2012
Hamilton
Convention Centre
1
Summers Lane, Hamilton, ON
7:30
a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
MC: Dana
Robbins, Publisher, Hamilton Spectator
Keynote
Speaker: David Lepofsky
David
Lepofsky, CM O. Ont, is Chair of the Accessibility for Ontarians with
Disabilities Act Alliance and, before that, from 1994 to 2005, chaired its
predecessor coalition the Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee. David
spearheaded the campaign that led to the enactment of the Ontarians with
Disabilities Act, 2001 and later the Accessibility for Ontarians with
Disabilities Act 2005. David is now leading the campaign to get these laws
effectively implemented to achieve a fully accessible Ontario.
In his
personal capacity, David won two successive human rights cases against the
Toronto Transit Commission to force it to audibly announce all bus, subway and
streetcar stops for the benefit of blind transit passengers.
Tickets
available now at PATH. $40.00 per person
Please
call 905-528-6611, ext 234 for more information.
*****
TAKEN
FROM THE WEBSITE OF THE TORONTO TRANSIT
COMMISSION AT HERE:
2012 TTC
Public Forum on Accessible Transit
You are
invited to give us ideas on how to make the Toronto Transit Commission’s (TTC)
services and facilities better for people with disabilities.
Thursday
May 10, 2012, 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm, Queen Elizabeth Exhibit Hall, Exhibition Place
- 180 Princes’ Boulevard
An
accessible shuttle bus service will operate from accessible Bathurst Station to
the Queen Elizabeth Hall starting at 6:00 pm. Return buses will start at 9:30
pm. Regularly scheduled accessible bus service is also available on the 29
Dufferin Route. ASL, captioning and attendants will be available.
If you
cannot attend, but would like to contribute suggestions about TTC conventional
and Wheel-Trans services, call 416-393-3030 (TTY at 416-481-2523) Monday to
Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
We have
lots of bits and pieces of important and helpful news on Ontario's voyage to
become fully accessible for persons with disabilities.
*****
TAKEN FROM THE WEBSITE OF THE LAW COMMISSION OF ONTARIO AT HERE:
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TORONTO,
March 21, 2012 — The Law Commission of Ontario (LCO) today released for public
feedback a Draft Framework for the Law as it Affects Persons with Disabilities.
When completed, the Framework will assist in evaluating new or existing laws,
policies and practices to ensure that they take into account the circumstances
and experiences of persons with disabilities, and that they promote positive
outcomes for these members of society within the context of society as a whole.
The LCO anticipates that the final Framework will be of benefit to legislators,
policy-makers, courts, advocacy organizations, community groups and service
providers that deal with issues affecting older adults.
Feedback
on the Draft Framework will be accepted until Wednesday, May 2, 2012. Based on
the results of those consultations, the LCO anticipates releasing a Final
Framework and Report in mid 2012.
The
Draft Framework is accompanied by a Background Paper which sets out the
principles on which the Draft Framework is based, and provides analysis of how
these principles might be interpreted.
Persons
with disabilities make up a significant proportion of Ontario’s population –
over 15 per cent, according to 2006 figures – and the number and percentage of
Canadians with disabilities has been steadily increasing in recent years. While
in recent years there has been significant movement towards acknowledging the
experiences of persons with disabilities and recognizing their rights, persons
with disabilities nevertheless remain disadvantaged compared to their
non-disabled peers. “A comprehensive legal framework to guide laws, policies and
practices affecting persons with disabilities in all spheres of life is both
essential and timely,” said Dr. Patricia Hughes, Executive Director of the LCO.
The LCO
released a Preliminary Consultation Paper for this project in 2009, and has
conducted extensive research, including funding six research papers by noted
academics and experts. In the spring and summer of 2010, the LCO conducted
extensive consultations with persons with disabilities and with organizations
that serve, represent or advocate for persons with disabilities, in order to
better understand the experiences of persons with disabilities with the law. In
the late summer of 2011, the LCO released a Consultation Paper requesting
feedback on key issues in the development of the Framework.
Launched
in September 2007, the LCO, funded by the Law Foundation of Ontario, the
Ministry of the Attorney General, Osgoode Hall Law School and the Law Society of
Upper Canada, and housed in the Ignat Kaneff Building, York University, operates
independently of government to recommend law reforms to enhance access to
justice.
-30-
Aussi
disponible en français
Lauren
Bates
Staff
Lawyer
Law
Commission of Ontario
(416)
650-8406
LawCommission@lco-cdo.org
Subscribe to our RSS Feed to receive AODA updates
