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Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance Update
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During National AccessAbility Week, Ontario’s Accessibility Ministry Seriously Understates Built Environment Accessibility Requirements
June 2, 2026
SUMMARY
In a CBC news report during Canada’s National AccessAbility Week, Ontario’s Ministry of Accessibility makes a statement about the obligation to ensure accessibility of the built environment that seriously understates that duty. In that news report, set out below, a musician with disabilities bemoaned the difficulties in finding an accessible studio. The article includes:
“The ministry said accessibility requirements “apply to most new construction and to existing buildings undergoing extensive renovations. Building owners are encouraged to upgrade their buildings to meet the needs of their tenants and clients.”
That means older buildings without accessibility features are grandfathered under the building code until the building owner decides to make renovations.”
Yet the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act itself, which the Minister for Accessibility Raymond Cho is obliged to implement and enforce, requires the following in Sections 1 and 7:
“ 1. Recognizing the history of discrimination against persons with disabilities in Ontario, the purpose of this Act is to benefit all Ontarians by,
(a) developing, implementing and enforcing 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
(b) providing 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. …
- The Minister is responsible for establishing and overseeing a process to develop and implement all accessibility standards necessary to achieving the purposes of this Act. …”
The Minister has failed to develop, enact and enforce comprehensive built environment accessibility standards that will achieve the AODA’s purposes, which include the accessibility of buildings and the built environment. The very limited Design of Public Spaces Accessibility Standard leaves in place the vast majority of disability barriers in the built environment.
Just as disturbing, the Ministry did not appear to acknowledge that the Ontario Human Rights Code imposes a duty to accommodate customers with disabilities, up to the point of undue hardship to the service-provider. That duty includes a duty to remove existing accessibility barriers in the built environment. See Quesnel v. London Educational Health Centre (1995), 28 C.H.R.R. D/474 (Ont. Bd. Inq. The Ontario Human Rights Commission has concluded in its Policy: “Ableism and Discrimination Based on Disability at Footnote 145:
“Similarly, organizations cannot rely only on the requirements of the Ontario Building Code, but must consider their obligations under the Human Rights Code. The Human Rights Code prevails over the Building Code and organizations may be vulnerable to a human rights claim if their premises fall short of the requirements of the Human Rights Code. Relying on relevant building codes has been clearly rejected as a defence to a complaint of discrimination under the Human Rights Code: see, for example, Quesnel v. London Educational Health Centre (1995), 28 C.H.R.R. D/474.
Fully 21 years after the AODA was enacted, it is inexcusable that the Minister or Ministry could get such a basic accessibility requirement so wrong. To do so in the context of National AccessAbility Week is even more indefensible. We emphasize that the public-facing communications strategies of that Ministry are usually dictated by the overall political and policy direction of the Minister and their political staff.
How You Can Help
- Write Premier Ford at premier@ontario.ca Tell him its time Ontario enacts a full and comprehensive Built Environment Accessibility Standard under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.
- Check out the AODA Alliance’s series of informative videos about disability barriers in the built environment. If you know anyone who teaches design professionals such as architects, urge them to use these videos in their courses and classes.
- Learn more about our advocacy efforts to win an accessible built environment by visiting the AODA Alliance website’s built environment page.
MORE DETAILS
CBC News June 1, 2026
Originally posted at: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/kitchener-musician-says-finding-an-accessible-studio-in-ontario-was-beyond-challenging-9.7212784
Kitchener musician says finding an accessible studio in Ontario was ‘beyond challenging’
Advocate says Ontario’s rules don’t go far enough to help people with disabilities
Aastha Shetty CBC News
Michael Monize says finding an accessible recording music studio has been ‘beyond challenging’ as many aren’t wheelchair friendly. After many calls and inquiries, he found an accessible studio at the Kitchener Public Library.
Everything about making music comes easy to Michael Monize — everything except finding accessible studio space.
The musician, who’s based in Kitchener, Ont., has used a wheelchair for over 20 years after a spinal cord injury. While pursuing his craft, though, he’s faced issues in finding an accessible studio.
Monize has been searching for space in cities across southwestern Ontario, including Toronto and, most recently, in Waterloo region.
“I would describe it as beyond challenging,” Monize said, reflecting on the amount of time and research that went into trying to find a wheelchair-friendly studio space.
“I’d call around to studios and you wouldn’t believe, a step or two would prevent access. It just changes the whole dynamic. I’m coming to a studio to create, be creative, be in that space — not deal with challenges getting into the space.”
Monize said he called four different studio spaces across Waterloo region before finally looking into the Kitchener Public Library’s Heffner Studio, a fully accessible space where he now creates music.
Ontario’s Ministry of Seniors and Accessibility offers a toll-free number to call if a business is not compliant with the province’s accessibility rules, but Monize said his calls haven’t led to actionable change.
“Nothing’s going to be done. You call a line, you complain this place isn’t accessible, they take your complaint and that’s about it.”
‘Holding back his potential’
Monize’s manager, Natalia Isak, said it’s frustrating to see Monize struggle to just find a space, and it wastes valuable time and energy.
“I can access places, I can do things, but he cannot,” Isak said.
“Before you go anywhere, you have to make plenty of calls to make sure that something’s accessible or whether this thing that you are doing is even possible for somebody with a disability just because the built environment isn’t accessible. So [it’s] definitely holding back his potential, his growth.”
David Lepofsky is chair of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) Alliance. The volunteer-run advocacy group campaigns for the effective implementation of AODA standards.
Lepofsky said the provincial government isn’t doing enough to help.
“There’s some enforcement, but it’s pathetically paltry. We desperately need enforceable accessibility standards to prevent these kind of barriers, and while the government passed some, they haven’t passed a new accessibility standard since 2012,” Lepofsky said.
“When you build a building on a number of fronts, it has accessibility requirements in it, but they’re absolutely up to date as of the late Middle Ages. You can easily build a building that fully complies with the accessibility requirements and the building code, and yet it’s still a building that’s replete with disability barriers.”
At the Kitchener Public Library, David Mason, the library’s strategist of inclusive experiences, said they are dedicated to going above and beyond when it comes to improving accessibility for all.
“I think it’s great to be able to see [Monize’s] work happen in action at the studio at Kitchener Public Library,” Mason said.
“I think it’s important that we do accessibility work all the time. It’s helpful to see folks have a good experience. You do all this work to make the space as accommodating and welcoming as possible. Accessibility is a net win for everybody at the end of the day.”
Advocate calls phone line for complaints ‘a joke’
When it comes to making complaints about shops or studios that are inaccessible, Lepofsky said the provincial phone number is falling short.
“We fought for this over a decade ago as a complaint line where you could get things enforced. But from what we’ve heard … the government certainly doesn’t treat it that way,” he said.
“From any feedback we’ve received from people with disabilities, it’s a joke.”
In a statement to CBC News, the Ontario Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility said complaints are only occasionally received through the toll-free line, adding it’s meant for people to ask for assistance or pose questions related to compliance.
The ministry said accessibility requirements “apply to most new construction and to existing buildings undergoing extensive renovations. Building owners are encouraged to upgrade their buildings to meet the needs of their tenants and clients.”
That means older buildings without accessibility features are grandfathered under the building code until the building owner decides to make renovations.
For now, Monize said he’s happy at the library’s Heffner Studio.
“I was able to complete my first track here, I Am On, which I said I’ll release for National AccessAbility Week [May 31 to June 6],” he said.
“I connected with other artists here at the studio for my next project, Tears of Boswellia. They added some vocals for it and we were able to build like you would in a studio with other artists. I think that was fantastic.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aastha Shetty is a journalist with CBC Kitchener-Waterloo. She has lived, worked and told stories in Waterloo region and surrounding areas since 2018. She has covered a variety of topics including housing and affordability, consumer rights and social injustice. She also has experience as a court reporter and as a multimedia producer. Get in touch: aastha.shetty@cbc.ca or 226 338 7845.