Everyday accessibility made easier

2007-10-18

Going to the corner store, making a business call, and surfing the Internet are all relatively ordinary, everyday tasks. But when the door is too narrow for your wheelchair, the business doesn’t have a teletypewriter or your screen reader can’t convert the text from their website, your ability to access the same services as your neighbour is severely limited.

Anyone who has ever pushed a stroller up a ramp has benefited from enhanced accessibility without even knowing it. For a person with a mobility challenge, the stairs can be a crippling barrier to their everyday quality of life.

The severity of the obstacle aside, the Government of Ontario believes enhanced accessibility is key to making life easier for all Ontarians. By developing, implementing and enforcing accessibility standards, the Ontario Ministry of Community Services intends to make the province fully accessible by 2025.

“It has been a real catalyst for change,” says Scot Weeres, the director of standards development and compliance for the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario, when asked about the 2005 Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). To remove barriers, the regulations consider the needs of persons with physical, mental health, sensory, learning and developmental disabilities.

The use of a standards-based approach to developing regulations is unique to this ministry. “It’s the first time I’m aware of where a jurisdiction has married the approach of standards development with the regulatory tools available to government,” explains Weeres.

Persons living with disabilities, as well as representatives from government, affected industries and organizations, have been invited to share their knowledge and expertise. Weeres believes that enabling a range of informed citizens to provide input is not only valuable, “it yields a more democratic, efficient and effective result.”

“The standards process always forces you to ask, ‘How do we improve?’” says Issie Lyon, the manager of special projects for the Province of Ontario’s Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.

“I see this exercise, as hopefully, a very good example of how the standards process can help government come up with better regulation,” Lyon says. “Governments are always looking at streamlining regulations, making them more relevant, easy to understand and easy to deal with.”

Customer service is among the areas being addressed as part of the AODA. The committee that worked on the customer service standards offers some insight into how the process generally works. Initially, group dynamics posed a challenge for the 28 people representing the different sectors that needed to be heard. Many were unfamiliar with the standards development process. Achieving consensus was not easy but because everyone shared a common goal, the proposed standard was one they were able to support.

"There was an incredible level of commitment from everyone,” says Dr. Judith Sandys, chair of the customer service committee. “There was a realization that what we were doing was very important.”

The general public also had an opportunity to review and comment on the proposed customer service standard. Using this feedback, the customer service committee prepared a final version and submitted it to the Minister of Community and Social Services.

“Most of the committee’s perspectives and recommendations withstood scrutiny by the government,” adds Weeres. “The process provided a range of stakeholders with an opportunity to have a real impact on the eventual nature and scope of the regulation.”

As part of the Ministry’s plan, separate committees will address topics including built-environment, employment, transportation, and information and communications by following a similar standards-based process to developing regulations.

To ensure that it continues to meet society’s needs, this legislation has a continuous improvement loop built into it: each regulation will be reviewed every five years between now and 2025.

Of the impact of the AODA and the standards development process, Lyon says, “If you make things easier for persons with disabilities or the elderly, it makes things better for everybody. We’re talking about people’s quality of life. That’s what we’re trying to improve.”

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This article first appeared in volume 34 of CONSENSUS Magazine, 2007.  The information it contains was accurate at the time of publication but has not been updated or revised since, and may not reflect the latest updates on the topic.  If you have specific questions or concerns about the content, please contact the Standards Council of Canada.

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