TAKE ACTION!

Ontario election 2022

We called on all election candidates in all parties to sign the Accessible Housing Pledge.

We continue to call on all MPPs to sign this 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?

Ian Lipton, Green Candidate - Toronto St. Paul’s
MPP Mike Schreiner, Green Party Leader - Guelph
MPP Joel Harden, NDP Accessibility Critic - Ottawa Centre
Marlene Spruyt, Green Candidate - Lanark-Frontenac-

Kingston

Dianne Saxe, Green Candidate - University Rosedale

Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Ontario

Nicholas Rabba, NDP candidate -

Mississauga-Streetsville

MPP Jill Andrew, NDP - Toronto St. Paul’s
MPP Jessica Bell, NDP - University-Rosedale
Mara-Elena Nagy, NDP candidate - Don Valley East
Mary Rita Holland, NDP candidate - Kingston and

The Islands

Alison Kelly, NDP candidate - Bay of Quinte
Emilie Leneveu, Liberal Party - Bay of Quinte
Erica Charlton, Green Party - Bay of Quinte
Rob Collins, New Blue Ontario - Bay of Quinte
Soo Wong, Liberal Party - Scarborough-Agincourt
David Weber, Green Party - Kitchener South--Hespeler

Contact Your Provincial MPP

Tell your MP in Ottawa we need accessible

housing now!

Here is a draft letter to send to your MP

And...Contact Your Local Councillor

Wear a Button

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.

The Canadian Federation of the Blind is collecting experiences of people with disabilities who believe they may have been discriminated against in seeking housing, particularly in renting a room. The information you provide in this form will be used to demonstrate, at the human rights tribunal, the impact of allowing such discrimination.

Representatives of Older Women's Network and Accessible Housing Network meet with City Councillor Krystyn Wong-Tam

Learn More & Take Action:

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:

CityStream: Universal Design & Aging in Place

Over 90% of Canadian seniors want to ”age in place.” In order to stay in their own home, it's likely they'll need to make modifications to increase accessibility. As Brian Callanan reports, in most cases some simple adjustments and alterations using universal design principles can lead to big benefits.

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.

Canadian Legislative Accessibility History and the Built Environment

Presentation by accessibility specialist Thea Kurdi

"What is Adaptable, Visitable, and Universal Housing?”

Thea Kurdi, LivABLE Design Summit presentation

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:

Text of accessibility expert Thea Kurdi’s TEDx talk:
Top insider secrets to what's stopping full inclusion in design & how you can help fix them

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

GET THEM OUT! AND KEEP THEM OUT!

Urgent call to get people out of long term care facilities and keep them out, from Seniors for Social Action Ontario.

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

SSAO EFFORTS TO SECURE THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF OLDER ADULTS AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Seniors for Social Action Ontario (SSAO) requested from the Ontario Human Rights Commission, an inquiry into the mass institutionalization of older adults as a human rights violation. This was denied largely on the grounds that the Ontario Human Rights Commission lacks the resources to conduct such an inquiry.

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 impacts of inaccessible housing

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

Edmonton Access Design Guide 2017

Toronto Accessibility Design Guidelines (2021)