Calling for an Ontarians with Disabilities Act

By Lynne Swanson

A group of Ontario residents with disabilities believe that a barrier-free society is possible by the year 2000. And they’re advocating to make it happen.

The dire need for that legislation was clearly demonstrated when 200 to 300 individuals attended the "very core of democracy," the provincial legislature, to observe a member of the opposition introduce a resolution calling on the government to honour its written election promise of an Ontarians with Disabilities Act (ODA).

Only four seats in the Viewing Gallery were accessible to people using wheelchairs. So, 50 to 60 people were forced to watch proceedings from their wheelchairs on a TV monitor in another room.

The non-partisan Ontarians with Disabilities Committee aims to remove that type of barrier in public and private sectors. Public forums have been held in communities throughout Ontario and local committees have been established.

One of the group’s members, Steven Kean, who has spina bifida and is Adult Services Advisor of the Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Association, was there that day.

"It was overwhelming to see that many people with disabilities together in the same place. I’ve never seen that many people with disabilities together. I would like to say it was uplifting, but I can’t, with only four of us being allowed into the visitor’s gallery.

"Our seat of government is inaccessible," laments Kean, "it’s really a mess."

Despite the frustrations, the resolution passed unanimously with support of all three parties. "It was a victory of sorts," Kean concludes. "We have to capitalize on that."

Kean says the resolution sent a strong message to Premier Mike Harris that his government needs to take action on this soon. "He made a promise -- in writing... If we’re going to have some crack at being accepted... and be an equal part of society, we need this."

Committee Co-Chair, lawyer David Lepofsky, who is blind, concurs. "Time is of the essence... The aim of the ODA Committee is to have a barrier-free society by 2000. The law can’t do that if it’s passed on the 25th of December, 1999."

Kean explains that the ODA idea came from the Americans with Disabilities Act. "It won’t look anything like it. But we stole the name and the idea from there."

Lepofsky says that previously, people with disabilities "thought our struggle for equality would be achieved by being included in civil rights laws," that is, human rights codes and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

But "we eventually realized that was not enough and we needed disability-specific legislation [because] while there were some successes," through human rights legislation and the charter, "it was not solving the problem."

In Ontario, Lepofsky says, human rights prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability was enacted in 1982. Within two years, disability-related complaints made up 40 per cent of all complaints to the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

Yet, people with disabilities still faced a myriad of barriers in employment, housing, education, transportation, sports, leisure and goods and services. "Filing a Human Rights complaint every time you are discriminated against isn’t practical."

And, Kean adds, "You’ll be old and grey by the time the complaint reaches a Board of Inquiry and goes through the total process."

"Ten years later, people with disabilities were still feeling excluded. We need to have [Human Rights], but it’s not the total solution," Lepofsky affirms.

So, by the early 1990s, some groups such as ARCH (Advocacy Resource Centre for the Handicapped) and individuals began circulating the idea of an Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

Although the NDP government at the time declined to introduce the legislation, Gary Malkowski, who is said to be the first Deaf member in any democracy in the world, introduced a private member’s bill. There "was not a great chance of success, but the idea was to get the movement going."

And it did just that. On the date the bill received unanimous support on second reading, Lepofsky says, the provincial legislature was "packed floor to ceiling" with people with disabilities.

"The bill attracted people as much as people were advocating for the bill."

Elaine Ziemba, Minister of Citizenship and Culture, addressed the Committee of Public Hearings on this issue.

The Committee Room was filled with people with disabilities anxious to hear what she would say. When the Minister made no commitment to an ODA, but rather gave a speech of NDP achievements, Lepofsky remembers, "Blood pressures were going through the roof... People in the room were quite visibly angry... and hopping mad."

Out of this frustration came the ODA Committee. By the 1995 spring provincial election campaign, the group was questioning all three parties about their commitment to an ODA if elected. Lepofsky says the NDP did not make a commitment, while the Liberals and Conservatives promised to introduce an ODA.

In a written letter to the ODA Committee in May, 1995, Mike Harris made a commitment to
1. Pass an Ontarians with Disabilities Act during a Conservative government’s first term in office;
2. Channel expected savings from the Common Sense Revolution into fresh resources for accommodation of people with disabilities; and
3. Work with the Ontarians with Disabilities Committee to develop legislation.

Lepofsky and the ODA Committee view "a strong ODA as being within the financial goalposts of the Common Sense Revolution."

A strong and effective ODA will save the public money by getting people off welfare and paying taxes, explains Lepofsky. By removing barriers, it will make businesses and services presently inaccessible to people with disabilities available to a wider population, such as parents with baby strollers, and seniors.

The act would require private and public sector organizations to work proactively with the disability community to identify existing barriers, develop a plan with clear goals and time tables for removing them, and prevent new barriers from developing.

A call to the office of Marilyn Mushinski, Minister of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation -- who is responsible for disability issues -- was referred to Communications Coordinator, Tim Abray.

Abray advised that the Minister has met with Lepofsky and members of the ODA Committee. The ODA proposal has been shared with other ministries directly affected, such as Transportation and Municipal Affairs, because of major "overhauls" planned for legislation in those areas, some of which could impact on the community of people with disabilities.

One example of a method to prevent new barriers was a provincial discussion paper which suggested changing accessibility requirements in new construction to save builder costs. Abray confirms that the disability community "quickly made their concerns known, and people are listening to them."

In terms of the feasibility of a barrier-free society by the year 2000, Abray says, "Like Mr. Lepofsky, this government is very committed to quick and effective change" and has a "very special commitment to ensuring the removal of barriers for persons with disabilities... The vehicle by which that is done is what’s up for debate."

Abray also points to the introduction of the government’s workplace Equal Opportunity Plan, which he says includes an "extremely extensive" website with "considerable resource material and case studies... It’s the place where the expertise-sharing aspect of this gets off the ground" regarding removal of barriers and better human resources practices."

"They promised us a law. All they gave us was a website," counters Lepofsky with some exasperation. "It is a mixture of useful information blended with government propoganda and self-promotion."

And Lepofsky says many unemployed individuals with disabilities can’t afford the cost of a computer to access the technology, resulting in another barrier.

Lepofsky’s greatest frustration with the website revolves around job accommodation. He says the government’s position is that "it is education which will make employers do good things... The single most important fact about job accommodation is that it’s the law... At no point in their discussion of job accommodation on the website do they tell that person with a disability or an employer it is required by law.

"Not only will they not give us the new rights they promised, but when they educate people, they will not tell them about the rights we already have!" Lepofsky exclaims.

Marion Boyd, MPP for London Centre and former Attorney General, Minister of Community and Social Services, and Minister of Education under the NDP government, introduced the resolution calling on the government to fulfil Harris’s commitment to an ODA.

Boyd agrees with Lepofsky that an ODA is not in conflict with the mandate of the Common Sense Revolution. She suggests there would be tremendous economic benefits if accessibility to jobs, education and transportation were improved.

She says these were areas which her government’s Employment Equity Act addressed. Boyd concedes her government was "naive" in not understanding that a new government could actually repeal legislation which benefitted a majority of the population.

Boyd does not share the ODA Committee’s optimism for a barrier-free society by 2000, due to the sheer magnitude of the problem. But she does think it can be achieved by 2010 if legislation is introduced and enacted soon.

Both Lepofsky and Boyd think an ODA would have spin-off effects for people with disabilities in the rest of Canada, and that it is critical for the larger provinces to show leadership. Boyd understands British Columbia and Quebec have active groups advocating for such legislation.

"The Tories need to be held to their promise," Boyd asserts. "They’re keeping all their other promises, even those affecting the most vulnerable... They must keep this one as well."

For that to occur, Lepofsky believes direct involvement of the Premier -- whom he says has refused to meet with ODA representatives -- is essential. "We’re urging people to pick up the phone or write to the Premier and demand an ODA now."

To find out more about the ODA Committee or to establish one in your community, contact Steve Kean, ODA Committee, c/o Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Assoc. of Ontario, 35 McCaul St., Ste. 310, Toronto, ON, M5T 1V7; or phone (416) 979-5514, ext. 26.

To contact the Premier, write to The Honourable Michael D. Harris, Premier of Ontario, Legislative Bldg., Queens Park, Toronto, ON, M7A 1A1; fax: (416) 325-7578; or phone: (416) 325-1941.

(Lynne Swanson is a freelance writer living in London, Ontario.)

EDITOR’S NOTE:
The Canadian Abilities Foundation was responsible for collecting the information provided in the Ability@Work component of the Gateway to Diversity -- the website of the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation. After reviewing Mr. Lopofsky’s comments, we asked the ministry to make a clearer reference to the Ontario Human Rights Code and its regulation for mandatory job accommodation in Ontario. This has been done.

Of note is that the resource library section of the website contains 20 different references to job accommodation -- including Mr. Lepofsky’s own "A Duty to Accommodate: A Purposive Approach," and the "Guidelines for Assessing Accommodation Requirements for Persons with Disabilities," produced by the Ontario Human Rights Commission.