Disability Studies

"The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) is an Ontario law mandating that organizations must follow standards to become more accessible to people with disabilities. The goal for the province is to be fully accessible by 2025. All levels of government, private sectors, and non-profits must comply with this legislation."

The OHRC protects people from discrimination and harassment because of past, present and perceived disabilities. “Disability” covers a broad range and degree of conditions, some visible and some not visible. A disability may have been present from birth, caused by an accident, or developed over time. Find relevant policies here and know your rights!

The Accessibility Statistics Hub contains data on accessibility as it relates to the seven priority areas of the Accessible Canada Act: employment; built environment; information and communication technologies (ICT); procurement of goods, services, and facilities; design and delivery of programs and services; transportation; and regulations.

"The Government of Canada consulted with Canadians from July 2016 to February 2017 to find out what an accessible Canada means to them. On June 20, 2018, the Government introduced Bill C-81, An Act to ensure a barrier-free Canada (the Accessible Canada Act) in Parliament. The Accessible Canada Act received Royal Assent on June 21, 2019, and came into force on July 11, 2019."

"Canada seeks to reduce barriers and increase opportunities for people with disabilities, to ensure their full participation in our society. Our nation has a strong legislative framework that guarantees the equal rights of people with disabilities."

"New findings from the 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD) showed that 27% of Canadians aged 15 years and older, or 8.0 million people, had one or more disabilities that limited them in their daily activities." Click through to learn more.

The Disability Justice Network of Ontario (DJNO) aims to build a just and accessible Ontario, wherein people with disabilities: Have personal and political agency; Can thrive and foster community, and; Build the power, capacity, and skills needed to hold people, communities, and institutions responsible for the spaces they create."

"DAWN Canada was founded in 1985 following a meeting between seventeen women from across Canada who came together to discuss issues of mutual concern. In a society which devalues and often punishes difference of any kind, women with disabilities face many barriers. If we are Indigenous women, LGBTQ, older women, women of colour or immigrant women, we encounter even more discrimination and more barriers"

"The CCD is a social justice organization of people with all disabilities that champions the voices of people with disabilities, advocating an inclusive and accessible Canada, where people with disabilities have full realization of their human rights, as described in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities."

"The CCDS is a non-profit, consumer-directed and university-affiliated national organization dedicated to disability issues. We are dedicated to re-envisioning—through collaborative research, education and development—meaningful and equal participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of society—locally, provincially/territorially, nationally and internationally."

"ARCH Disability Law Centre is a specialty legal clinic that practices exclusively in disability rights law. ARCH is dedicated to defending and advancing the equality rights, entitlements, fundamental freedoms, and inclusion of persons with disabilities in Ontario."

ARCH Disability Law Centre's open collection features resources on:disability law and policy, programs and services; inclusion and equality rights; practical guides for community and independent living; history of the disability rights movement; and more.

"Inclusion Canada, formerly the Canadian Association for Community Living (CACL), is the national federation working to advance the full inclusion and human rights of people with an intellectual disability and their families."