With the 2025 Ontario Election approaching, AEBC s contacted FordNation, Marit Stiles, Bonnie Crombie, and Mike Schreiner, as well as their parties, to ask about their platforms on AODA and other disability issues. The following is our first response from the Green Party of Ontario.
Lee Pigeau
Executive Director
Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians
Dear Lee,
Thank you for sharing AEBC’s priorities with the Ontario Greens ahead of the upcoming election. Please find below responses to your call to action on behalf of Mike Schreiner and the party.
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)
1. The Ontario government has repeatedly failed to meet its own deadlines for implementing the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). If elected, will you commit to setting and enforcing strict timelines to ensure full implementation of the AODA, and what concrete steps will you take to eliminate accessibility barriers across Ontario?
Living with a disability shouldn’t mean living in poverty and facing barriers. But for many of the 3 million Ontarians living with disabilities, that is the reality they face. Additionally, many people living with disabilities are unable to access essential services, housing, due to lack of accessible designs. This needs to change, urgently.
Ontario Greens are the only party that has committed to fulfilling all the commitments in the Accessible Ontario Pledge by the AODA Alliance which includes the full implementation of AODA. It is unacceptable that the previous governments did not prioritize meeting the failed deadline.
2. The latest independent review of the AODA has identified serious gaps in enforcement and compliance. What will your government do to ensure that businesses, public institutions, and municipalities comply with AODA standards, and will you commit to introducing financial penalties for non-compliance?
Ontario Greens are committed to substantially strengthening AODA enforcement and open to investigating introducing financial penalties for non-compliance.
3. The disability community continues to raise concerns that Ontario’s built environment remains inaccessible despite AODA requirements. Will you commit to updating Ontario’s Building Code to align with universal design principles and ensure that all newly constructed or renovated public and private spaces are fully accessible to blind, Deafblind, and partially sighted individuals?
Ontario Greens will update Ontario’s Building Code to ensure that new affordable housing stock is accessible to blind, Deafblind, and partially sighted individuals, and we will require affordable housing retrofits to meet the same standards.
Vision and Disability-Related Supports
4. Ontario’s Assistive Devices Program (ADP) has not kept pace with technological advancements, leaving many blind, Deafblind, and partially sighted individuals without the tools they need to live independently. How will you modernize ADP to include emerging technologies and eliminate excessive wait times for essential assistive devices?
We will improve the Assistive Devices Program to better meet the needs of those requiring assistive tools, including more up-to-date devices, training, and fewer barriers to access as well as ensuring appropriate standards for repair of devices.
5. With an unemployment rate exceeding 75% for blind Ontarians, what is your plan to reduce employment barriers and ensure that job seekers with vision disabilities have access to equitable hiring practices, workplace accommodations, and career advancement opportunities?
Ontario Greens are the only party that has committed to fulfilling all the commitments in the Accessible Ontario Pledge by the AODA Alliance. Under the AODA Employment Standard, employers will be required to make the hiring process accessible to applicants and candidates who are blind, deafblind or partially sighted. We will provide clear, in-depth guidelines and deliver more responsive, comprehensive support for AODA implementation to organisations through free, independent technical advice and training.
6. Accessible transit remains a significant barrier for blind Ontarians, with inconsistent service levels, gaps in wayfinding supports, and ongoing issues with transit apps. What measures will your government take to ensure that public transportation is fully accessible, including real-time audible announcements, tactile wayfinding solutions, and mandatory accessibility training for transit staff?
Every Ontarian should have access to safe and reliable ways to get where they need. In accordance with the AODA, Ontario Greens will ensure that public transportation is fully accessible through real-time audible announcements, tactile wayfinding solutions, and mandatory accessibility training for transit staff.
Economic and Social Equity
7. Many blind and disabled Ontarians rely on the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), yet current ODSP rates force recipients to live far below the poverty line. Will you commit to raising ODSP to a livable income level and removing punitive clawback measures that penalize recipients who attempt to work?
Ontario Greens have long been advocating for increasing ODSP. Our plan is to phase in a Basic Income, with the first step being to at least double Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and Ontario Works (OW) rates and get rid of aggressive and unfair clawbacks, including clawbacks from the Canada Disability Benefit.
We will also:
● Eliminate any unnecessary red tape, reporting requirements, and other barriers typically faced by those needing financial support.
● Remove ODSP from the purview of Employment Ontario.
● Ensure shelter allowances reflect the shelter costs where people live.
8. The housing crisis in Ontario has disproportionately affected disabled individuals, with a severe shortage of accessible and affordable housing. Will you commit to mandating accessibility requirements in all new housing developments, and what policies will you introduce to ensure that blind and partially sighted Ontarians can access safe and affordable housing?
Ontario Greens will ensure that blind and partially sighted Ontarians have access to safe and affordable housing by:
● Ensuring that new affordable housing stock is accessible, and requiring affordable housing retrofits to meet the same standards.
We will prioritise building more affordable housing and protecting the stock we have by:
● Prioritising and speeding up the development approval processes for projects led by or in partnership with non-profit housing providers, and providing low-interest loans via a new revolving fund.
● Leasing all public land suitable for housing to nonprofits, co-ops, and community land trusts for permanently affordable housing at no cost
● Removing HST from affordable housing units delivered by non-profit providers
● Reducing multiresidential building property taxes to bring them in line with rates for single family homes
● Giving non-profit housing providers the support and access to capital needed to purchase market rental buildings to maintain affordability in perpetuity and introduce preemptive right-to-buy for nonprofits.
● Restricting short-term rentals to principal residences and in cities with low vacancy rates so there is more supply available for local renters.
● Supporting rental replacement by-laws province wide to ensure the continued supply of affordable rental stock.
Digital and Election Accessibility
9. Ontario’s provincial election process continues to exclude voters with disabilities, with limited access to accessible voting options such as online or telephone voting. Will you commit to implementing independent and private voting methods that ensure blind, Deafblind, and partially sighted Ontarians can cast their ballots without assistance?
Ontario Greens will increase the number of mobile polls at hospitals, seniors' residences, and for people with accessibility issues which prohibit them from easily leaving their homes. We will also enforce strict accessibility standards at voting stations.
10. Despite growing reliance on digital platforms, many government websites, forms, and public services remain inaccessible to people using screen readers and other assistive technologies. What will your government do to enforce digital accessibility standards for all public sector and provincially regulated private sector organizations?
Ontario Greens will ensure that digital accessibility standards for all public sector and provincially regulated private sector organizations, as laid out in the AODA, are met and enforced.
Thank you again for reaching out. We appreciate the opportunity to speak on these important issues.
All the best,
Madeleine Crist
Administrative Officer
Ontario Greens