Bonnie Crombie’s Liberals Make Election Commitments to Lead Ontario to Become Accessible to 2.9 Million Ontarians with Disabilities – Only Doug Ford’s Tories Have Not Made Commitments

ACCESSIBILITY FOR ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT ALLIANCE

NEWS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Bonnie Crombie’s Liberals Make Election Commitments to Lead Ontario to Become Accessible to 2.9 Million Ontarians with Disabilities – Only Doug Ford’s Tories Have Not Made Commitments

 

February 10, 2025, Toronto: Bonnie Crombie’s Ontario Liberals have just made detailed commitments to 2.9 million Ontarians with disabilities to lead this province to become accessible to them. (Liberal Party’s February 9, 2025, letter to the AODA Alliance set out below) So have the Ontario Greens and NDP. Only Doug Ford’s Tories have not responded to the AODA Alliance’s request that each party make the Accessible Ontario Pledge. The request for this pledge was sent to party leaders on January 6, 2025, and repeated in an ongoing social media blast.

 

“This snap election was called just days after the Ontario Government failed to lead this province to become accessible by the start of 2025, the legislated deadline for which all parties unanimously voted when they passed the landmark Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act in 2005,” said David Lepofsky, who chairs the grassroots AODA Alliance that has spearheaded the campaign to get the Disabilities Act effectively implemented and enforced. “Our non-partisan efforts during this election campaign will now focus on getting Doug Ford’s Tories to make the Accessible Ontario Pledge.”

 

The 10-plank Accessible Ontario Pledge calls on the next Ontario Government to show strong leadership on accessibility, starting at the top with Ontario’s next premier. It calls for effective accessibility standards to be set in important areas like education and health care to tear down disability barriers. It seeks to prevent public money from being used to create new disability barriers, as took place when Toronto’s new billion-dollar Armoury Street criminal courthouse was built with serious disability barriers, as a widely viewed AODA Alliance video documents. It seeks at long last to get the Disabilities Act effectively enforced and for the Government to be far more accountable to the public for its work on these issues.

 

The AODA Alliance and its predecessor coalition prior to 2005 have sought election commitments from the parties in every election since 1995. The AODA Alliance drew on its three decades of collective experience to formulate the Accessible Ontario Pledge as well as the recommendations of four successive Government-appointed Independent Reviews of the Disabilities Act since 2005.

 

The wrenching disability barriers that still impede people with disabilities in access to health care, education, transit, jobs, and access to vital services were vividly brought home to MPPs three months ago when the AODA Alliance staged community public hearings at Queen’s Park to mark the 30th anniversary of the campaign for accessibility in Ontario. Those deputations by people with disabilities across Ontario can be viewed online. The AODA Alliance’s January 6, 2025, Queen’s Park news conference, where the Accessible Ontario Pledge was unveiled, has been viewed online over 2,100 times, showing that voters have a strong interest in this issue.

 

Contact: AODA Alliance Chair David Lepofsky, aodafeedback@gmail.com

Twitter: @aodaalliance

 

For more background

 

February 9, 2025, Letter from Bonnie Crombie’s Liberals to the AODA Alliance

 

February 9, 2025

David Lepofsky AODA Alliance

Dear David,

Thank you for your advocacy on behalf of people with disabilities. I am committed to working with you as the next Premier of this great province.

The lack of action from Doug Ford and his government to enforce the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act is unacceptable, and Ontario’s Liberals will work with you as partners to understand the challenges and solutions needed to address them.

We are committed to making the Accessible Ontario Pledge. All the goals identified in the pledge will be part of our agenda.

An Ontario Liberal government in the province will show strong leadership that people living with disabilities can count on. Under my leadership, we will work collaboratively with the AODA Alliance, which includes seeking your input through meaningful engagement.

As your Premier, I will not allow weakening any provisions or protections in the AODA or any government policies or programs that help achieve the AODA’s objectives.

We are committed to delivering on the promise Doug Ford broke to ensure this province becomes accessible to all people.

Team Bonnie will:

  • Work with you to release a comprehensive plan with timelines for full and effective enforcement of the AODA, drawing on the recommendations in your letter to Ontario’s political party leaders on January 6, 2025.
  • Work with you to develop and implement a comprehensive set of regulations under the AODA that will set specific and measurable standards for all sectors.
  • Revise the Ontario Building Code so that homes can be accessible for everyone.
  • Establish a Chief Accessibility Officer with the mandate to develop and implement a multi-year plan for the public sector with achievable timelines.
  • Include measures to increase the supply of accessible housing in our housing strategy and prioritize the implementation of universal design principles across the board.
  • Work collaboratively with businesses, public sector, and non-profit organizations, as well as the disability advocates to ensure strong enforcement of the AODA principles and standards.
  • Make life more affordable for people with disabilities, by permanently doubling and indexing the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) benefits.

In Ontario, at least one out of every six students have a form of disability. As your Premier, I will ensure that students with disabilities have equal access to high-quality education, that assessment backlogs get cleared expeditiously so that schools can provide adequate support to students with disabilities, and recruit and retain teachers with specialized training.

Our commitments to Ontarians living with disabilities will be clearly laid out as a priority in the mandate letters that Ministers will receive. Once again, thank you for your passionate advocacy to build a better Ontario for everyone.

I look forward to earning your trust and support as the next Premier of Ontario.

Sincerely,

Bonnie Crombie

Leader, Ontario Liberal Party