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 TAKE ACTION!

 

MUNICIPAL LEVEL

Because cities issue building permits, they have a role to play in the creation of accessible housing.

 

** Accessible Housing Pledge for all Toronto Mayoral Candidates -- the mayoral byelection is June 26. **

 

Please ask candidates to sign this pledge: 

“I will make universal design mandatory in all new housing that the city creates through all City programs, or with any incentives, including tax dollars, land, agreements to defer fees or taxes, or other forms of incentive.  … I will be accountable for the outcomes resulting from Toronto’s efforts to make housing accessible through Universal design.”

Printable PDF with full wording of pledge

 

Urge your municipal councillor to sign the Affordable (and Accessible) Housing Pledge: 

 

I pledge that, as a Member of my municipal Council, I will: 

1. Create housing that is affordable 

2. Preserve the affordable housing we already have 

3. Ensure housing is habitable 

4. Direct public investment to homes that are accessible to all 

5. Prevent homelessness 

6. Make the most of our public infrastructure 

7. Fulfill our municipality’s commitment to the right to housing 

PDF of Affordable (and Accessible) Housing Pledge for Municipal Councillors

PROVINCIAL LEVEL

We call on every provincial MPP to sign the Accessible Housing Pledge.

Please help by asking your own MPP to sign. 

"I pledge that as a Member of the Provincial Parliament of Ontario, I will: 

  • Ensure that the Government of Ontario implements fully the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its associated Protocol; 

  • Actively work to change the Ontario Building Code (OBC) to require that 100% of units in every new multi-unit residential building be built according to universal design* principles (UD), so anyone of any age or ability can live there."

MPPs' Pledge - Printable PDF

     WHO HAS SIGNED THE PLEDGE?

Find Your Provincial MPP

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

               

 

 

 

 

 

 

FEDERAL LEVEL

 

Tell your MP in Ottawa that we need 

accessible housing now!

 

Click here to sign our Change.org petition calling for accessible housing in Canada's national building code.

 

Other ways to help end discrimination in housing:

  • The Accessible Housing Network is calling for the Ontario Human Rights Commission to undertake a systemic investigation of housing discrimination against people with disabilities. To initiate this investigation, we have been asked to bring a test case to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. Have you experienced discrimination in housing due to a disability? Please contact us to discuss how we can support each other to end discrimination.

 
OWN and AHN reps with Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam 1:18.jpg

Representatives of Older Women's Network and Accessible Housing Network meet with Kristyn Wong-Tam, former Toronto City Councillor and now Ontario MPP, representing Toronto Centre.

Learn More & Take Action:
 

Submission re Ontario Budget 2023 - Pre-budget Hearing

by Kate Chung

The Need for a Universal Design Standard in Canada's Building Code - Sal Amenta

https://www.seniorsactionontario.com/_files/ugd/50033d_8f2859592b1943d4a6ec1ec83a9b2f2d.pdf  

People of all ages need barrier-free homes

One family's story.

See our 2-page tool kit with key messages for use by AHN members and others who are advocating for universal design housing. Click here.

Housing: "No Vacancy for You!"

The international community marks the value of people with disabilities each year on December 3. Canada has signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). One of the rights is the right to housing.

Film and Video:

Report on the documentary film CRIP CAMP

How a ragtag group of disabled kids went away for the summer and came home ready to organize a revolution.

Presentations by accessibility specialist Thea Kurdi:    

        

A concise 4-minute call for accessible housing.  

Thea Kurdi speaks as a witness for the federal Housing Accelerator Fund (part of the National Housing Strategy) parliamentary  committee hearing.  June 13, 2022. 

https://lnkd.in/gF3kHS9x   

 

Webinar: The Crisis in Accessible Housing. What is Adaptable, Visitable, and Universal Design Housing?

        

        Canadian Legislative Accessibility History and the Built Environment

 

Books:

 

“The War on Disabled People” by Ellen Clifford. 

For disabled people, the impacts of austerity will be utter catastrophe. 

E-book - Essays on Aging in Place:

A Guide for Developing Good Policy and Practices, Especially for People Who Have an Intellectual/Developmental Disability 

 

Reports and Articles
When talking about affordable housing, don't forget accessibility
Op-ed column by Carol Damioli, in Beach Metro Community News
The Right To Housing Is About Accessibility, Not Just Affordability
by Sal Amenta
Canada’s top real estate development and accessibility leaders form coalition to create a more accessible Canada
https://toronto.uli.org/canadas-top-real-estate-development-and-accessibility-leaders-form-coalition-to-create-a-more-accessible-canada/
“Do our lives count for less?”
by Katherine Scott, CCPA Monitor, Jan/Feb 2021, page 22
People with disabilities were an afterthought in Canada’s COVID-19 response. Their lives and well-being should be integral to public health renewal.
https://policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National%20Office/2020/12/CCPA%20Monitor%20Jan%20Feb%202021%20WEB.pdf
Thousands of people with disabilities are waiting for an accessible home in B.C.  
Long waits are forcing many to live in homes without accessible bathrooms or kitchens, advocate says

Nova Scotia Court of Appeal Releases Ground-breaking Decision Regarding the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; Awards Largest Human Rights General Damages Award in Canadian History

Top insider secrets to what's stopping full inclusion in design & how you can help fix them 

Text of accessibility expert Thea Kurdi’s TEDx talk

York students apply critical race theory to the need for accessible housing

Seven-in-ten Canadians say universal accessibility should be the goal for newly constructed buildings

(Angus Reid Report)

A Quarter of Ontarians Have a Disability: How is This (Not) Changing Housing?

Edmonton: Making Our Houses Lifelong Homes

New report raises critical issues around disability rights in Alberta                                                      

CMHC: Cost of Adaptability and Accessibility Features – Existing Modest House

“…including adaptability features in new homes significantly reduces the potential cost of making the homes accessible, compared to making similar renovations to existing homes.”

CMHC: Cost of Accessibility Features in Newly-Constructed Modest Houses 

The majority of seniors express a preference for “aging in place”. Adaptable housing could delay or eliminate the need for older residents to relocate.  Building a new apartment requires the same space (and thus, cost) whether accessible or not.

 

Lived experience and social, health and economic effects of inaccessible housing
Report submitted to the Australian Building Codes Board 

Long-Term Care Is Not a Solution for Younger Adults with Disabilities 

Community Living Ontario has a brief on the longstanding practice in Ontario of using long-term care as a substitute for supporting an overburdened and waitlisted disability support system. 

Contact Shawn Pegg at shawn@communitylivingontario.ca to get involved. 

Leave No One Behind: The Need for an Inclusive Approach to COVID-19 Recovery in Long Term Care

From the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada

Toronto Accessibility Design Guidelines (2021)

Websites and Blogs:
Changing the National Building Code for an Inclusive Canada, July 17, 2018 by Lene Andersen 

      Petition to Ontario Legislative Assembly calling for Accessible Housing 

       The Accessible Housing Network requests your support. Please sign and share this petition. 

         https://form.jotform.com/230265710339048

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