Ontario accessibility in 'crisis,' says report quietly released by Ford government

With a year left until Ontario is supposed to be fully accessible, the state of accessibility in the province is in "crisis," a new report finds.

The declaration, along with over 23 recommendations on how to get the province back on track, was made in a critical report by Rich Donovan, the fourth person appointed to review the province's progress implementing the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).

Enacted in 2005, AODA was intended to make the province accessible by 2025. 

"The implications of getting accessibility right — and the continually rising costs of failing to do so — are why the Ontario government must care. Must prioritize. Must act," wrote Donovan, who was appointed in 2022. 

"Any further delays are an unacceptable risk to the province."

The Ontario government quietly released the report last Thursday, months after receiving it in June. A CBC Toronto request for the report through a freedom of information request last month was denied on the grounds that it would reveal cabinet deliberations, which are confidential, and that it was expected to be tabled in the Ontario legislature in the "near future."

Building on his interim report released in March, Donovan finds that:

However, the scathing review "is not intended to be an indictment of the Ontario Government," Donavon wrote.

"While the identification of gaps is necessary, the emphasis of the recommendations report is how to move forward."

Donovan was appointed chair of the province's Accessibility Standards Advisory Council by the former Liberal government and is the CEO of The Return on Disability Group. His review included consultations and talks with hundreds of people, including AODA stakeholders, members of the public and business leaders.

Donovan makes 23 recommendations under the categories: crisis, strategic and tactical.

Crisis recommendations must be resolved within 180 days, he said, and are intended to address immediate threats to public safety. His report says they will lay the "necessary groundwork for a successful accessible regime that has been absent for 17 years."

This includes the creation of emergency response protocols in provincial buildings and creating a new agency dedicated to all things AODA.

Meanwhile, strategic recommendations are geared toward shifting accessibility regulation to the federal government from the private sector — something Donovan says can help get rid of duplication and boost enforcement now that Canada is working on crafting a federal counterpart of the AODA, the Accessible Canada Act.