SUMMARY

Last fall, the Ontario Government made 13 important commitments to Ontarians with disabilities, in connection with the Ontarians with Disabilities Act. Today the ODA Committee is releasing a list of those commitments. Over the next weeks and months, our task will be to publicize these commitments, to hold the Government to them, to help the Government keep them, and to monitor whether these commitments are kept.

ODA COMMITTEE RELEASES TWO NEW IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS TODAY

To let you know about these 13 commitments, we today release two separate documents. In the first one, the one you will likely use most, we provide a four-page list of the Government's 13 commitments. We will call this the "13 Commitments" document.

In the second document, we provide a 14 page detailed list of the Government's public statements during the fall of 2001, which set out these 13 commitments. This longer document amply proves that the Government clearly made these commitments. This document results from a detailed process of poring over all the Government's statements, speeches, news releases and other public documents during last fall's debates and discussions over the Government's ODA bill. This second document, which we call our "Government Statements" document, can serve as a "backgrounder," which you can use if you want to show that the "13 Commitments" document is fair and accurate.

WHY THESE 13 COMMITMENTS ARE IMPORTANT

Why are these documents so important? You will recall that in the 1995 election Premier Harris wrote us a letter, in which he promised to enact the Ontarians with Disabilities Act in his first term. His May 24, 1995 letter to us, setting out that promise, was the centrepiece of all our efforts from 1995 to 2001 to win a strong and effective ODA. As you know, the Ontario Government has said that it keeps and will keep all its commitments.

These 13 commitments, made to us last fall, will be the new centrepiece or backbone of our efforts over the next weeks and months. It will serve as our new focus, just as Premier Harris's 1995 letter had previously served as our old focus.

WE NEED YOUR IDEAS

How can we make use of these new documents? We will soon be sending out suggestions to you on how we can all make use of these materials. But first, we need your ideas! We encourage you to send us your ideas at:

oda@odacommittee.net

Think of ideas on what you and other ODA supporters can do in your local communities to make use of these new documents, and to spread the word about the Government's 13 commitments to persons with disabilities. In general terms, we can think about bringing these 13 commitments to the attention of the members of the Ontario legislature, the media, municipalities and the public. We can also think about how to use these to monitor the actions which the Government takes to fulfil these commitments.

WE WILL BE SENDING THESE DOCUMENTS TO THE NEW ONTARIO PREMIER

We shall be writing the new Premier-designate, Ernie Eves, to bring these commitments to his attention and to offer to work together with him to ensure that these commitments are fulfilled.

With the release of these documents, we kick off the next phase in our campaign for a barrier-free Ontario.

 

Conservative Government's 13 Commitments to Ontarians With Disabilities
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Conservative Government's Statements Setting Out Its 13 Commitments to Ontarians With Disabilities
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