Catalyst for Change

By Janice Martin

Hallmark events such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games challenge athletes to chase their dreams and reach for their potential. They also challenge the host cities to live up to ideals of Olympic proportion. Toronto’s bid to host the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games is putting forth its best effort to achieve this goal.

The Toronto 2008 Bid’s Master Plan document describes the physical elements of Toronto’s proposed venue and site plan. The Bid has been very proactive in ensuring that barrier-free concepts are integral to the design of venues and services.

But an Olympic bid city is expected to do more than simply blueprint the nuts and bolts of the Games. Cities that win the opportunity to host the Olympics and Paralympics have an ability to act as a catalyst for positive social change and urban renewal. Each city that bids for the Games searches for that one crucial element that will set it apart from the other global communities as the one that will allow the Olympic flame to burn brightest.

That is why the Toronto 2008 Olympic Bid has gone beyond the parameters of its mandated Master Plan, reaching out to community groups in an attempt to act as a catalyst or change agent, to improve the level of accessibility in Toronto. In fact, the Bid’s vision is to make Toronto the most accessible city in the world by 2008.

The Toronto Bid is proud to support this project. We believe not only that it is the right thing to do, but that a strong business case can be made that will encourage Toronto businesses to see the value of such an endeavour.

Some impressive figures are coming out of the U.S., now 10 years after the groundbreaking Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) -- figures like 48.5 million people with disabilities, spending a discretionary income of $175-billion annually. Currently, Doug Fyfe from Tourism Toronto, Rod Seiling from the Toronto Hotel Association, Terry Mundell from the Ontario Restaurant, Hotel and Motel Association, and Jeff Adams, Chair of the Accessibility Committee of the Toronto 2008 Bid, are working to put together a report that will erify whether or not the traditional "10-per-cent rule," which extrapolates demographic data from the U.S. and applies it to the Canadian population, will apply in this case. Figures to date seem to indicate that the rule will hold.

By proving that barrier-free access is a responsible way of doing business, the Bid believes that it can encourage compliance by assuring a return on investment to those who choose to make their products or places of business accessible. In doing so, they will make Toronto more accessible, and enable the city to bring the Olympics to a greater number of fans than ever before. This kind of accessibility is particularly appealing to the decision makers at the International Olympic Committee, who have as a mandate to disseminate the Olympic Ideals to the global community. There have already been many positive results from the efforts of the Bid and the Accessibility Committee. Over 70 people attended a recent meeting to discuss ways to make the city accessible by 2008. Co-chaired by Councillor Anne Johnston and Paralympic athlete Jeff Adams, the meeting features representatives from City Council, departments from the three levels of government, the TTC, Go-Transit, the business community, and the disability community, who gathered to share ideas that will help formulate the path for a barrier-free city.

At a City of Toronto Council Meeting on June 7, 8 and 9, a motion was passed recommending that the Commissioner of Corporate Services, the Chief Financial Officer and the Treasurer submit a joint report to the Administration Committee on an audit and financial plan to ensure that the City of Toronto is an accessible city by 2008. Regions that will host Olympic and Paralympic venue sites outside of the City of Toronto will be approached to pass a similar motion.

(For more information about the Bid’s position on barrier-free access, please contact Janice Martin at (416) 603-2008, or e-mail: jmartin@to-2008.com.)