The following is the Compendium to the new ODA Bill 125, introduced for first reading on Monday, November 5, 2001.

It is wise to read the bill itself to see what it says rather than to rely on this sort of promotional material put out by the Government.

MINISTRY OF CITIZENSHIP

COMPENDIUM

Proposed Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001

An Act to improve the identification, removal and prevention of
barriers faced by persons with disabilities and to make related
amendments to other Acts

Purpose of the proposed Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001

The Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001 (the Act) would seek to
improve opportunities for persons with disabilities and to provide
for their involvement in the identification, removal and prevention
of barriers to their full participation in the life of the province
(Section 1).

The Act would affirm the Ontario government's commitment to working
with every sector of society to build on what has already been
achieved together with those sectors and to move toward a province
in which no new barriers are being created and existing ones are
removed. The Act would indicate that this responsibility rests with
every social and economic sector, every region, every government,
every organization, institution and association and every person in
Ontario.

The Act would affirm the existing legal obligations of the
Government of Ontario respecting persons with disabilities. The
Act would specify that it does not limit the operation of the
Ontario Human Rights Code (Section 3).

Accessibility of Government Buildings

The Act would require the Government of Ontario to consult with
persons with disabilities and others to develop barrier-free
guidelines to promote accessibility for persons with disabilities
in government buildings, and would require government buildings to
comply with those guidelines (Section 4). The Act would require
that buildings funded by government capital projects meet or exceed
the accessibility standards of the Building Code Act, 1992 and its
regulations. The Act would also allow the government to include
accessibility requirements for other types of capital projects
(Section 9).

Accessibility in Government Practice

The Act would require the Government of Ontario to take steps to
provide for accessibility of goods and services, Internet sites and
publications. In addition, the Act would provide requirements for
accommodation in the Government of Ontario's employee selection
processes and workplace environments. Managers and senior staff
would receive training on their obligations for accommodating
employees and job applicants (Sections 5 to 8).

Planning for Accessibility in the Public Sector

The Act would require that all Ontario government ministries
prepare annual accessibility plans to identify, remove and prevent
barriers to persons with disabilities and that these plans be made
available to the public. Ministry accessibility plans would be
developed as part of the annual business planning processes to
address barriers in each ministry's legislation, policies,
programs, practices and services (Section 10).

Through an amendment to the Legislative Assembly Act, the Act would
also require the preparation of an accessibility plan for the
Legislative Chamber and other parts of the Legislative Buildings
subject to the Speaker's control (Section 27).

Under the Act, municipalities with a population of 10,000 or
greater, school boards, hospitals, colleges, universities and
public transportation organizations would also be required to
prepare accessibility plans each year, and to make these plans
available to the public (Section 11, 14 and 15). The Act would
provide that ministries, municipalities or organizations may
prepare a joint accessibility plan and make the plan available to
the public (Section 17).

The Act would require that a municipal accessibility advisory
committee be established by each municipality required to prepare
an annual accessibility plan. Each advisory committee would
include persons with disabilities. The Act would require municipal
councils to seek advice from their respective committees about the
implementation and effectiveness of the municipality's
accessibility plan and the accessibility of its buildings (Section
12).

The Act would also require all municipalities to have regard to
accessibility for persons with disabilities, in deciding to
purchase goods or services (Section 13).

The Act would require other selected broader public sector agencies
to develop accessibility policies each year to address services to
persons with disabilities. The Act would also provide that two or
more agencies could prepare a joint accessibility policy (Section
16).

The Act would provide for the specification of guidelines by the
Government of Ontario, with respect to accessibility plans and
policies by ministries, municipalities and other organizations
(Section 18).

Public and Private Sector Partnerships

The Act would provide for the establishment of the Accessibility
Directorate of Ontario as well as the Accessibility Advisory
Council of Ontario. The majority of members of the Advisory Council
would be persons with disabilities and the Council would advise the
Minister of Citizenship on the implementation of the Act and on
accessibility issues in the public and private sectors.

The Accessibility Directorate would advise the Minister and support
the Accessibility Advisory Council with respect to disability
issues. The Act would require Ontario government ministries to
consult with the Directorate in the preparation of their annual
accessibility plans, and the Directorate would develop
accessibility planning guidelines for ministries and other
organizations required to prepare plans. The Directorate would also
work with standard-setting organizations to develop accessibility
standards and codes, develop partnerships with other organizations
and conduct research and public education programs to increase
awareness of accessibility issues (Sections 19 and 20).

Review of the Act

A review of the Act would be undertaken after five years (Section
21).

Regulations under the Act

The Lieutenant Governor in Council would be able to make
regulations under the Act to support the purpose of the
legislation. This would include regulations to set out
requirements for accessibility plans and policies and to adopt
standard-setting codes for accessibility (Section 22).

Complementary Amendments to Other Legislation

The Act also would provide for complementary amendments to other
legislation to improve current practices or establish new practices
that support accessibility for persons with disabilities. This
would include amendments that would increase accessibility in the
provincial and municipal election processes, in the provincial
Legislature and in subdivision planning and social housing across
the province.

The Act's complementary amendments would also include an increase
in penalties for infractions against disabled parking by-laws, and
amendments to the Highway Traffic Act provisions dealing with
disabled persons' parking permits. Municipalities would be
provided with an enabling provision to include accessibility as a
factor in eligibility for municipal licenses. Amendments would be
made to the Ontario Human Rights Code to replace the word
'handicap' with 'disability' and expand the definition of
'disability' to include those who use service animals other than
guide dogs (Sections 23 to 31).

Schedule

The Act's Schedule would list the types of organizations required
to prepare accessibility plans under the Act. This includes school
boards, hospitals, colleges and universities.

additional links:
Government's Explanatory Note re: NEW ODA BILL 125