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
Major Disability Organizations Unite in an Open Letter that Calls on All Ontario Political Parties to make the Accessible Ontario Pledge in This Provincial Election
February 11, 2025
SUMMARY
Today we make public an open letter to the Ontario political party leaders, signed by an impressive list of major disability organizations. It calls on all parties to make the Accessible Ontario Pledge in this election that the AODA Alliance made public on January 6, 2025. We set this new open letter out below.
In this election, the Greens, NDP and Liberals have responded to our request for this Pledge. Only the Tories have not. We are focusing our efforts on getting the Conservatives to jump aboard and make the Accessible Ontario Pledge as well! We do not endorse or oppose any political party.
How You Can Help
- Please widely circulate this open letter to others, including on social media and on the web.
- Help us get more disability organizations to sign on to this open letter. We need a senior official at a disability organization to write us with approval to add their organization’s name. Send that to us at: aodafeedback@gmail.com
- The only signatories to this letter are disability organizations, not individuals. Everyone, including you, can help our blitz by using the action tips in our 2025 Election Action Kit which is coming to you tomorrow.
For More Background
- The text of the Accessible Ontario Pledge sought by the AODA Alliance.
- The Ontario Green Party’s response to the AODA Alliance request for the Accessible Ontario Pledge.
- The Ontario New Democratic Party’s response to the AODA Alliance request for the Accessible Ontario Pledge.
- The Ontario Liberal Party’s response to the request for the Accessible Ontario Pledge.
- The online video of the January 6, 2025, AODA Alliance news conference at Queen’s Park, unveiling the Accessible Ontario Pledge.
- A timeline of major events over the past 30 years in the grassroots campaign for accessibility in Ontario.
- The Legislature’s historic vote on May 10, 2005, to pass the AODA and the Queen’s Park news conference right after that vote.
Text of the February 11, 2025, Open Letter to Ontario Party Leaders by Disability Organizations
To: Ontario Political Party Leaders and Candidates
The undersigned organizations and groups urge all parties and candidates to make the January 6, 2025 Accessible Ontario Pledge in order to lead this province to become accessible to 2.9 million Ontarians with disabilities. In so doing, we also recognize that there are other important disability issues that merit the commitments of all parties, and which individuals and organizations will raise with the parties and their candidates.
Signed:
- Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance
- ARCH Disability Law Centre
- Ontario Disability Coalition
- Accessible Hamilton Alliance
- Ontario Autism Coalition
- Accessible Housing Coalition
- Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians
- Ontario Parents of Visually Impaired Children
- Thunder Bay Family Network
- CNIB
- Canadian Council of the Blind
- Citizens with Disabilities Ontario
- Toronto Visionaries
- Ontario Parents for Education Support
- March of Dimes Canada
- Physicians of Ontario Neurodevelopmental Advocacy (PONDA)
- DeafBlind Ontario Services
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder – Elgin London Middlesex Oxford (FASD-ELMO) Network
- Independent Living Resource Centre Thunder Bay
- Independent Living Resource Centre Corp Sudbury Manitoulin (ILSM)
- Community Living Ontario
- Ontario Agencies Supporting Individuals with Special Needs (OASIS)
- Family Alliance Ontario
- Ontario Independent Facilitation Network (OIFN)
- Spinal Cord Injury Ontario
- Community Living Huntsville