AODA Alliance
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance Update
United for a Barrier-Free Ontario for All People with Disabilities
Website: www.aodaalliance.org
Email: aodafeedback@gmail.com
Twitter: @aodaalliance
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aodaalliance
City TV Delves Further into Disability Barriers at Toronto’s New Armoury Street Courthouse
September 19, 2024
SUMMARY
Access to justice is a fundamental right for everyone in Canada. When a court building has
disability accessibility barriers, this violates the right to access to justice.
So many Ontarians have now heard about the inexcusable fact that the Ontario Government spent almost a billion dollars on a new downtown Toronto courthouse that has serious accessibility problems. The AODA Alliance revealed this in our online video, both the 14 minute version and the more detailed 49 minute version.
We are thrilled that the media has kept digging into this story. A good example of this was the superb City News report by Erica Natividad on September 17, 2024, both in its Toronto newscast that evening and in an online report. You can read the online report below.
It is especially vexing that the same people within the Ontario Government and in the private sector who made the decisions that led to this mess could now be designing more public infrastructure projects with yet more accessibility barriers. This must stop.
It seems that every month, the Ford Government is sending out news blasts about new hospitals, public transit lines and other infrastructure that the Government is funding. Back in 2011, the previous McGuinty Government announced a ten-year Infrastructure plan that included disability accessibility commitments. What ever happened to that?
How You Can Help
Send this news report to your member of the Ontario Legislature. Tell them that we need a public accounting of how this mess happened after the Government received advice on accessibility before any shovels went into the ground–advice that was too often ignored or side-lined. Responsibility for this mess lies with both the Ontario Government and the private company that won the bid to build this courthouse.
You can find your MPP by visiting the Ontario Legislature’s website.
Learn more by visiting the AODA Alliance website’s courts accessibility page.
MORE DETAILS
City News September 17, 2021
Originally posted at https://toronto.citynews.ca/2024/09/17/provincial-report-finds-accessibility-issues-at-new-toronto-courthouse/
Provincial report finds accessibility issues at new Toronto courthouse
A provincial report is backing up an advocacy group’s claims that Toronto’s $956M courthouse has significant accessibility issues. Erica Natividad with the details and why they say these were preventable problems.
By Erica Natividad
A new report is backing up some of the claims that a downtown courthouse appears to violate accessibility rules.
“We revealed publicly a month ago that these are serious problems in this building. What we now see is that the government has a report in hand from a consultant they hired last year that tells them the exact same thing,” said David Lepofsky, Chair of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance.
The report, commissioned by the Ministry of the Attorney General and completed earlier this year, focuses specifically on what’s known as Tactile Walking Surface Indicators, raised markings that help those who are visually impaired navigate in and around buildings.
It found that in some areas these indicators were installed incorrectly. It also found that the layout of the ground floor, for example, does not provide a natural path to the washroom or an intuitive exit from the building. It also notes the large and open environment of the courthouse plaza makes it a difficult place to navigate where the wayfinding path can be easily missed.
Last month, Lepofsky, noted this exact problem among many others in a video titled, “Billion Dollar Accessibility Bungle,” referencing the $956-million price tag of the courthouse located on 10 Armoury Street.
“It’s just clear vindication. It’s because they are professional experts in accessible design. They were able to drill down into precise details so that they showed for example that not only did the government mess up, but they didn’t even live up to their own commitments,” said Lepofsky.
The new courthouse highrise has 63 courtrooms and 10 settlement conference rooms. The 17-storey building replaced six existing buildings across Toronto opened in March of 2023.
The province has previously noted that the building had been given a Gold Accessibility Certification awarded by the Rick Hansen Foundation.
When reached for comment, the foundation said in part that its certification focuses on “a big picture view of accessibility,” adding “The Toronto Courthouse’s rating is a starting point on their continued journey towards improved accessibility.”
Meanwhile, Lepofsky says a government representative has assured him that they are working on a list of fixes, but said the details remain unclear.
CityNews reached out to the province but did not receive a response in time for broadcast.
“While this report focuses specifically on these surface indicators, Lepofsky says there is another report forthcoming looking at the larger accessibility issues in this building, but no confirmation on how soon it will be completed.