By Marta Swirydowicz
With the last Canadian census, 27% of people aged 15 and older identify having a disability, a 4% increase from the 2017 data (Statistics Canada, 2023b). People with disabilities are a critically underserved population, experiencing poorer health and less economic participation on average than persons without disabilities (World Health Organization, 2011). There are marked disparities between persons with and without disabilities in time spent in health-promoting leisure activities – persons with disabilities spending more of their leisure time doing passive or solo activities at home, rather than structured activities in the community (Shandra, 2021). There has also long been a difference in employment rates between persons with and without disabilities – the employment rate is about 15% lower among persons with disabilities than their same-aged peers without disabilities (Statistics Canada, 2023a). These disparities can often be attributed to social and physical barriers that impede access, such as overarching things like: inadequate policies and laws or a lack of necessary funding, also more tangible things like inaccessible parking areas, entrances, and doorways; poor or incomplete signage; and inadequate bathroom facilities.Being able to use the physical spaces with ease is essential to everyday living and when accessibility is not considered, it can be difficult or impossible for many people with disabilities to access important community spaces.
In recent decades, the policy landscape has shifted somewhat with regards to disability inclusion and there are a number of pieces of legislation in place that are meant to remove barriers and promote equitable access for Canadians with disabilities.
- The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) was introduced in 2005 and was one of the first pieces of legislation in the world to mandate accessibility. In fact, in 1994 the very first grassroots community campaigned for a strong disabilities act in Ontario and the Ontarians with Disabilities Act (ODA) Committee was born. In 2001, the ODA became law, albeit, a weak and very limited law. After strong campaigns by the ODA committee a more robust and comprehensive law was passed in 2005 – the AODA. The main purpose of the AODA is to remove barriers preventing people with disabilities from being active in society including accessibility in customer service, information and communications, employment, transportation, and the design of public spaces. Today, the government has set a goal of making Ontario fully accessible by 2025.
- Accessible Canada Act (ACA), is a national law that came into effect in 2019. This act applies to a range of federally regulated bodies such as parliament, banking, telecommunications, and transportation among others. ACA’s objective is to make Canada barrier-free by 2040. This act, although similar to the AODA above, has additional priority areas: communications other than information and communication technologies, the design and delivery of programs and services and the procurement of goods, services and facilities.
- Finally, the Ontario Building Code (OBC) is a regulation that establishes minimum standards and technical requirements for construction and restoration; it defines accessibility requirements in new construction and renovations aligned with the Design of Public Spaces standard of the AODA. The OBC includes the most up to date information when it comes to accessible physical spaces and the new iteration of the Ontario Building Code, which includes accessibility, comes into effect on January 1st, 2025.
These various acts and accessibility standards aim to remove barriers and make spaces more accessible, providing a legal baseline for accountability.
Universal Design is a broader, more inclusive approach that goes above and beyond minimum standards and aims to create environments that are meaningfully usable by everyone. Many legislated accessibility standards focus mostly on the outside environment, such as pathways and parking lots, allowing people to enter a space safely, but include almost nothing about the aspects of the building that would matter for someone that was using the space for any period of time. Therefore, taking a Universal Design approach and considering the needs various people could have will allow organizations to include more people in the delivery of their services. Since not all organizations are accessible and inclusive to all, universally designing spaces and going above and beyond legal requirements can also provide organizations with a competitive advantage.
- A strategy that can help facilitate successful use of universal design is community consultation including persons with lived experience of disability. Meaningfully engaging with community members around their needs for service delivery, working to understand their experiences, and collaborating to identify and enact solutions can help ensure that changes suit everyone.
When our Training and Education team tours a facility during our Accessible Spaces audit, we work to determine, along with individuals with various lived experience of disabilities, its usability for all individuals in the community. We move through the full experience from arriving on site through to entering the building and using the facilities such as entrances, corridors, washrooms, stairs, counters, elevators, among other important areas. The Accessible Spaces audit looks at all levels of relevant legislation and includes a universal design approach, establishing elements that will bring a space “up to code” and beyond. Physical accessibility isn’t just ramps and automatic doors. Some examples of key physical features are:
- easily navigable parking areas with convenient pathways and enough space for mobility devices to make their way to entrances of businesses safely,
- accessible elevators with voice announcement system and braille on the buttons to ensure individuals with vision loss or low vision get to the correct floor
- stairs that are equipped with tactile indicators and colour contrast strips, appropriate handrails, appropriate depth and height, and non-slip materials, to ensure they are safely navigable without risk of tripping or slipping.
In addition, during the Accessible Spaces audit we will look for simple operational items that can quickly and easily be addressed to impact accessibility and inclusion for community members. We call these actions “Quick Wins”. Participating organizations will be able to use their Accessible Spaces audit report to start making changes, big and small, to improve the accessibility of their facilities, reach compliance and go beyond to promote social inclusion within their communities. If you’re interested in learning more about Accessible Spaces audits, e-mail edu@abilitescentre.org to find out how you can make a difference.
Overall, physical accessibility is critical for ensuring everyone can enter and fully engage with important community spaces. While there is legislation in place to promote the removal of barriers, it does cover everything. Everyone has the opportunity and responsibility to promote accessibility in their own spaces. Accessible Space audits are a tool for fostering an inclusive environment, ensuring compliance, and enhancing overall organizational effectiveness. Let’s all do our part to create environments that are functional and welcoming for everyone, enhancing accessibility in physical spaces demonstrating to everyone the commitment to accessibility and inclusion.
About the author:
Marta Swirydowicz is the Senior Coordinator of Training and Education. She has been at the Abilities Centre since 2021 and that is when she began her learnings on Accessible Communication and Accessible Spaces utilizing the AODA, OBC and Universal Design Standards going above and beyond legislation.
Marta brings a wealth of experience supporting her son in the neuro-diverse community as well as her sister who has vision loss and hearing loss has accelerated her learnings to push accessibility and inclusion forward. Marta is also passionate in ensuring that our physical spaces are accessible to everyone. Furthermore, she has expertise in auditing healthcare organizations, hotels, municipal and recreational buildings as well as external facilities including parks and playgrounds.
In her spare time, she likes traveling, working out, and spending time with her family and volunteering on the Whitby Accessibility Advisory Committee including two sub committees, Customer Service and Design of Public Spaces.
References:
Shandra, C. L. (2021). Disability and patterns of leisure participation across the life course. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 76(4), 801-809.
Statistics Canada. (2023a). Employment rates of persons with and without disabilities, Canada, 2017-2022 [Infographic]. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/230830/g-a001-eng.htm
Statistics Canada. (2023b). New data on disability in Canada, 2022 [Infographic]. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-627-m/11-627-m2023063-eng.htm
World Health Organization. (2011). World report on disability 2011.