April 11, 2002

SUMMARY

On April 10, 2002, the ODA Committee wrote to Ontario's incoming premier, Ernie Eves. In this letter, set out below, the ODA Committee congratulates Mr. Eves on his new position as premier, offers to work together with him on implementing the Ontarians with Disabilities Act 2001, calls for all provisions of the ODA 2001 to be proclaimed in force immediately, and asks for a meeting with him. We also provide him with a copy of our recently-released four-page list of the Conservative Government's 13 commitments to persons with disabilities, made last fall, and our 14-page list of the Government statements spelling out these commitments.

Send us your feedback on this letter at:

oda@odacommittee.net

*****

April 10, 2002

The Honourable Ernie Eves
Legislative Building, Room 281
Queen's Park
Toronto, Ontario M7A 1A1

Dear Premier-designate Eves,

Re: Ontarians with Disabilities Act

I am writing on behalf of the Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee. We are
a voluntary, non-partisan, grassroots, coalition of community organizations and
individuals. We have united to achieve a barrier-free Ontario for its 1.5
million residents with disabilities through the enactment and implementation of
a strong and effective Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

We want to congratulate you on your election as leader of the Conservative
Party and to the position of Premier of Ontario. We wish you the best of luck
in this new challenge. We also want to offer you our assistance to help you
succeed in an important matter that is currently on your Government's agenda.

Your predecessor, Premier Harris, promised in 1995 to work together with the
ODA Committee to develop the Ontarians with Disabilities Act. The Ontarians
with Disabilities Act 2001 was passed into law last fall, as the last piece of
legislation passed in the last session of the Legislature. It received Royal
Assent on December 14, 2001.

Our province-wide coalition is widely recognized for leading the efforts to
secure the enactment of a strong and effective Ontarians with Disabilities Act,
and as a leading centre of expertise in this area. While many were disappointed
that the Ontarians with Disabilities Act 2001 did not go further than it did,
and were concerned about the delay in getting it passed, we want to do all we
can in a positive, collaborative and constructive spirit to ensure that Ontario
gets as much as it can from this legislation.

During the public discussion and legislative debates over this bill last fall,
your Government made a series of 13 important commitments to Ontarians with
Disabilities. We have brought these commitments together in one place. We
enclose both a list of these 13 commitments, and a list of the public
statements by your Government in which these commitments were made. We hope
that these documents will help you and your Government in addressing these
commitments.

There is much to be done now to implement this legislation and to fulfil these
13 important commitments. We offer to help you and your Government with these.
Among other things, we want to take a very active role in the development of
the standards, regulations and guidelines which are to be set under this
legislation for the removal and prevention of barriers against persons with
disabilities in all sectors of Ontario life. We are eager for those to be
strong and effective and for them to be developed and implemented as soon as
possible.

As a very important first step, It is critically important that your Government
immediately proclaim in force the entirety of the Ontarians with Disabilities
Act 2001. Although this bill was passed in mid-December 2001, none of its
provisions were proclaimed in force until almost two months later, on February
7, 2002. Even then, the majority of its provisions now remain unproclaimed,
almost four months after the bill was passed. The Government has not indicated
when it intends to proclaim the rest of these provisions in force. There is no
need for any further delay in proclaiming them.

We realize that you have much to do as you assume your new position. We ask
that the Government's 13 commitments to Ontarians with disabilities, made last
fall, receive a high priority as you set your Government's agenda for the next
weeks and months.

Once you have had an opportunity to settle into your new position, we would
welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss how we can assist your
Government as a whole in fulfilling its commitments to Ontarians with
disabilities to achieve a barrier-free province. We look forward to your
leadership on this issue.

Again, congratulations on your new position.

Sincerely,

David Lepofsky, C.M.
Chair
Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee

cc: Cam Jackson 326-9338
Norman Sterling 326-2913
Dalton McGuinty 325-9895
Dwight Duncan 325-2201
Steve Peters 325-7262
Ernie Parsons 325-4757
Howard Hampton 325-8222
Peter Kormos 325-7067
Marilyn Churley 325-3252
Tony Martin 325-3720

Enclosures:

1. CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT'S 13 COMMITMENTS TO ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES (4 pages)

2. CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT'S STATEMENTS SETTING OUT ITS 13 COMMITMENTS TO ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES (14 pages)

Links:

Conservative Government's 13 Commitments to Ontarians With Disabilities added April 13, 2002
download as Word doc
download as Rich Text Format file
download as Text only file

Conservative Government's Statements Setting Out Its 13 Commitments to Ontarians With Disabilities added Apr 13, 2002
download as Word doc
download as Rich Text Format file
download as Text only file