In Ontario Legislature, NDP Presses Premier Ford to At Last Agree to Meet with AODA Alliance

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance Update

United for a Barrier-Free Society for All People with Disabilities

 

Web: www.aodaalliance.org

Email: aodafeedback@gmail.com

Twitter: @aodaalliance

Facebook: www.facebook.com/aodaalliance/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aodaalliance

 

In Ontario Legislature, NDP Presses Premier Ford to At Last Agree to Meet with AODA Alliance

 

March 23, 2023

 

SUMMARY

 

On March 22, 2023, the Ontario NDP critic for disability issues asked the Ford Government what it is doing to implement the scathing interim report of the 4th Independent Review of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, written by Government-appointed reviewer Rich Donovan. She also asked if Premier Ford would at last meet with the AODA Alliance. He is the first premier in two decades to repeatedly refuse to meet with us. Below we present the official transcript of that exchange in the Legislature.

 

Premier Ford did not answer. His Accessibility Minister Raymond Cho, who has also refused to meet with us for at least some two years, did not say that Premier Ford would meet with us. He did say:

 

“When it comes to leadership here, there is no better advocate for accessibility than this Premier.”

 

The March 20, 2023 Toronto Star took a different view. Its editorial blasted Ontario’s poor performance on making this province accessible for 2.9 million Ontarians with disabilities.

 

There have now been 1,512 days since the Ford Government received the damning final report of the 3rd AODA Independent Review conducted by former Lieutenant Governor David Onley. It has announced no comprehensive plan to implement that report, or to take new action since it received the March 1, 2023 Rich Donovan Interim Report. There are only 650 days left before 2025, the AODA’s deadline by which the Ontario Government is required to lead this province to become fully accessible.

 

For more background:

 

  • The March 1, 2023 interim report of the Rich Donovan 4th Independent Review of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

 

 

 

 

 

  • The AODA Alliance website which documents the non-partisan campaign since 2005 to get the Ontario Government to effectively implement the AODA.

 

 

MORE DETAILS

 

Ontario Hansard March 22, 2023

 

Originally posted at https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/house-documents/parliament-43/session-1/2023-03-22/hansard

 

MPP Lise Vaugeois: Twenty-one days ago, the government received a report on the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. The report states: “The Premier of Ontario, and his cabinet, have yet to meet even the basic needs of people with disabilities.” Adding insult to injury, the AODA Alliance, a group concerned with implementing the act, has met with every Premier since the AODA was passed in 2005, but not this Premier.

 

Speaker, through you: Will the Premier commit to meeting with the alliance and immediately work to fully implement the AODA?

 

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To reply, the Minister for Seniors and Accessibility.

 

Hon. Raymond Sung Joon Cho: Thanks to the member opposite for this important question.

 

Mr. Speaker, “Nothing without us”—our accessibility community wants their voice heard. This is why people with disabilities are involved in the design and evolution of program and service delivery in Ontario. Their voice matters.

 

We welcome the feedback from Rich Donovan to improve accessibility across Ontario.

 

Under the leadership of this Premier, we are the first provincial government to have a ministry and cabinet position dedicated to advancing accessibility in Ontario. We are building a more accessible Ontario together.

 

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The supplementary question.

 

MPP Lise Vaugeois: I hope there will actually be a date, then, made with the AODA Alliance as soon as possible.

 

Each five-year review has expressed grave concerns about the lack of progress implementing the AODA. The third review in 2019 by the late Honourable David Onley called the experience of Ontarians with disabilities “soul-crushing.” And the current review says, “Due to 17 years of inaction, any excuse to delay is laughable and wildly insulting.”

 

Speaker, will the Premier tell the three million Ontarians with a disability what he’s doing to ensure Ontario is fully accessible by the target year of 2025?

Interjections.

 

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’d ask members to please take their seats.

 

The Minister for Seniors and Accessibility.

 

Hon. Raymond Sung Joon Cho: Thank you to the honourable member for that question.

 

When David Onley gave me his report on the AODA, he told me, “Raymond, the number one thing you can do to create a more accessible Ontario is to help people with disabilities get meaningful jobs.”

 

I want to thank my good friend the Minister of Labour for the investment into the Skills Development Fund. We are making sure that people with disabilities have the right programs, services and training to find meaningful jobs.

 

When it comes to leadership here, there is no better advocate for accessibility than this Premier.