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297 – Ontario’s Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act of 2005,
Canada
Responsible body: Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure;
implemented by all private and public sector organizations
Country of implementation: Canada (Ontario)
Beneficiaries targeted: All Ontarians, foremost those with disabilities
SUMMARY
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) of 2005 builds on progress made under earlier legislation and
it applies to all aspects of CRPD Article 9 - both access to and the provision of services, as well as the built and landscape
environments, information and communication technologies (ICTs), and transportation. Since its introduction, Ontario
has developed and implemented standards that cover customer service, information and communications,
employment, transportation and the design of public spaces. To facilitate its implementation, institutions at all levels
have been established: Municipal Accessibility Advisory Committees at the local level, the Accessibility Standards
Advisory Council and the Accessibility Directorate at the provincial level.
CONTEXT/P ROBLEMS TARGETED (WITH ADDITIONS FROM THE ZERO P ROJECT T EAM)
Since the AODA’s introduction in 2005, Ontario has developed and implemented standards that cover customer service,
information and communications, employment, transportation and the design of public spaces: the Accessibility
Standard for Customer Service which became mandatory by a Regulation 429/07 since January 2008 as well as the
Integrated Accessibility Regulation 191/11 that became legally binding on Jan. 1, 2013 and which will take effect in 2015
for the Government, with full implementation by 2018.
In 2009-2010, a First Legislative Review of the AODA by Charles Beer took place and in response, the Government
harmonized four standards in the Integrated Accessibility Standards regulation (IASR). In 2014, a Second Legislative
Review took place.
OBJECTIVES/GOALS
To develop, implement and enforce accessibility standards, in order to achieve accessibility for Ontarians with
disabilities with respect to goods, services, facilities, accommodation, employment, buildings, structures and premises
on or before January 1, 2025; and to provide for the involvement of persons with disabilities, of the Government of
Ontario and of representatives of industries and of various sectors of the economy in the development of the
accessibility standards.
KEY F EATURES (W ITH ADDITIONS FROM THE ZERO P ROJECT TEAM)
The AODA is to be classified as provincial legally binding regulatory policy and includes the following features: