September 2, 1998

To:Board of Health

From:Dr. Sheela V. Basrur, Medical Officer of Health

Subject:Discussion Paper: "Preventing and Removing Barriers for Ontarians with Disabilities"

Purpose:

To inform the Board of Health on the attached submission that was forwarded to the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship, Culture, and Recreation in response to the recently released discussion paper entitled "Preventing and Removing Barriers for Ontarians with Disabilities".

Source of Funds:

Not applicable

Recommendations:

(1)The Board of Health forward a copy of the appended submission to the Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee (ODA) for consideration.

(2)The Medical Officer of Health continue to monitor the pending Ontarians with Disabilities Act and report to the Board of Health in the event that further input is needed during the legislative process.

Background:

Persons with disabilities in Ontario households and health-related institutions are estimated to comprise 15.9% of the population or 1,606,815, based on the 1991 Health Activity Limitation Survey. Persons with disabilities are highly vulnerable and disadvantaged because they face high rates of unemployment, poverty, and discrimination.

During the 1998 budget, the provincial government confirmed its commitment to an Ontarians with Disabilities Act. The budget set out a number of initiatives that would promote opportunities for people with disabilities by increasing accessibility in the area of employment, transportation, education and training, and health care services.

On July 13, 1998, the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship, Culture, and Recreation released its discussion paper "Preventing and Removing Barriers for Ontarians with Disabilities" as a precursor to drafting legislation, the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, in an attempt to address systemic barriers confronting persons with disabilities.

At its meeting on July 27, 1998, a member of the Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee addressed the Board on the discussion paper. The Board requested the Medical Officer of Health to prepare and forward a submission to the Ministry to respond to the discussion paper.

Comments:

The Ontario Government is requesting responses to this discussion paper by September 4, 1998 and is hosting a series of meetings in eight cities in Ontario. These consultation meetings are by invitation to a small group of selected individuals and will not be open to the general public.

The disability community is concerned about the consultation process, including its time frames, since there was no public announcement regarding the release of the discussion paper and its distribution was limited to a select group of people. The Government has already made several policy decisions before this consultation process is complete. It has been decided that the legislation will contain voluntary measures, that there will be no mandatory requirements in the employment sector, and that no new agency will be created to enforce the Act.

Why Is An Ontarians With Disabilities Act Needed?

(a)Disabled individuals reflect the diversity of the population by age, gender, race, religion, and ethno-cultural communities.

(b)Disabled individuals face high rates of unemployment, poverty, and social assistance dependency.

(c)Disabled individuals face barriers preventing full participation in jobs, access to information/communication, education at all levels, public transit, use of goods, and services and facilities.

(d)A great number of disabled individuals are seniors and this number will increase as the population ages.

(e)The proportion of under-employed and unemployed individuals is significantly higher in the disabled community than for the general public.

Existing laws and programs are not sufficient to bring about a barrier-free society. Although both the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Ontario Human Rights Code ban discrimination because of physical or mental disability, they do not fully address the needs of the disabled. Protection under the Code is generally achieved by individuals filing complaints after discrimination has occurred, which may be time consuming, costly, not always successful, and not necessarily the best way to achieve long-lasting systemic changes.

The Advantages of Enacting an Ontarians with Disabilities Act:

According to the ODA committee, the law would: help many persons with disabilities move from welfare into productive jobs; reduce the substantial costs to Ontario caused by the current exclusion of many persons with disabilities from society's mainstream, and prevent new barriers from being created.

Under the United Nations 1975 Declaration of the Rights of Disabled Persons and the 1993 U.N. Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunity for Persons with Disabilities, Canada has international obligations to take measures to remove barriers for people with disabilities.

Primary Concerns About the ODA Discussion Paper:

While the intent of the proposed legislation is the removal of systemic barriers to education, employment opportunities, goods and services, etc., a reliance on voluntary measures runs the risk that existing barriers will merely be perpetuated. An additional concern is the process by which the discussion paper was released and stakeholder input sought, which may limit public participation in this important policy arena.

Conclusions:

It is timely for the government to enact legislation which will protect the rights of persons with disabilities in Ontario.

Contact Name:

Liz Janzen, Regional Director, Toronto Public Health

Tel: 392-7458

Fax: 392-0713

Dr. Sheela V. Basrur

Medical Officer of Health

August 7, 1998

ODA Consultation

Ministry of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation

Equal Opportunity and Access Branch

77 Bloor Street West, 7^th Floor

Toronto, Ontario M7A 2R9

Dear Sirs:

Re: Discussion Paper on "Preventing & Removing Barriers for Ontarians with Disabilities"

On behalf of the Board of Health, City of Toronto, we would like to take this opportunity to provide input to the recently released discussion paper on "Preventing & Removing Barriers for Ontarians with Disabilities".

First of all, we commend the government in espousing the principle that every person in Ontario should have equal opportunity to participate in the life of the province. This philosophy is a step in the right direction. We are also pleased that the release of the discussion paper ensured that the public, primarily the disabled community as well as a broad range of constituency groups, could influence the government's vision and direction.

To our dismay, however, it would appear that the Government is already alluding to two major policy directions without having received public input such that only voluntary measures will be considered in the area of employment and that no new agency will be established to enforce this law. We suggest that the government retract these positions until public input, particularly from the disabled community, has been heard.

Our response to specific questions contained in the discussion paper is as follows:

1.What are the priorities for preventing and removing barriers?

Some of the priorities are:

- having a strong, effective, and enforceable legislation

- accepting the philosophy of a barrier-free Ontario

- having mandatory guidelines and standards as opposed to voluntary compliance

- establishing realistic timelines for the removal of existing barriers and the prevention of newer barriers

2.What could a new Ontarians with Disabilities Act include to help prevent and remove barriers?

We propose that the Act be written such that it would:

- apply to employment, housing, public transit, education and training at all levels, health and social services (including health promotion), communications and telecommunications, recreational programs and facilities, information provided to the public, consumer products, law enforcement, tourism, and entertainment

- be applicable both fully and equally in all areas of the province, (cities, towns, and rural areas)

- give the provincial government the authority and the duty to develop, implement, and enforce consistent barrier-free standards which would be applicable across the entire province

- cover physical barriers, communication barriers, and discrimination in employment

- be inclusive to benefit all people with disabilities of all ages

- guarantee persons with disabilities the right to participate in a barrier-free environment by having existing barriers identified and removed and to have new barriers prevented

- include a broad range of disabilities (e.g. physical, mental illness, developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, mobility disabilities, communication disorders and speech impairments, AIDS, visual impairment, neurological disorders, traumatic brain injury etc...)

- include a list of disabilities that can be expanded by regulation or by the courts in accordance with the principles set out in the Act

- complement existing laws and regulations

- if no new agency is created, the government must commit additional resources to the Ontario Human Rights Commission to ensure no increase in the current backlog of systemic discrimination complaints and to enforce any new provisions under the ODA

- prevent diminishing the rights that people with disabilities currently have under the Human Rights Code (an individual should still have the ability to file individual complaints) and the Building Code

- strengthen and complement the protections that now exist for people with disabilities (The Ontario Human Rights Code, The Ontario Building Code, and The Canadian Charger of Rights and Freedoms)

3.What additional approaches could complement an Ontarians with Disabilities Act?

Some additional approaches are:

- to involve organizations and people with disabilities to help develop educational and promotional activities as well as provide technical assistance/implementation of barrier-free plans

- to have the government provide education and disability-related information/resources to individuals, groups, organizations in order to assist them with compliance and requirements of the Act

- to have the government provide financial resources to assist organizations, businesses who comply with the Act

On behalf of the Board of Health, we strongly urge you to bring forth an Ontarians with Disabilities Act that will enshrine the right for people with disabilities to live in a barrier-free Ontario.

Yours sincerely,

Councillor John Filion, Chair

Toronto Board of Health

Councillor Irene Jones, Vice-Chair

Toronto Board of Health