In May 2021, the Ontario government published a report that contained 22 initial recommendations for a Health Care Standard under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disability Act (AODA), which would identify and address accessibility barriers in the health care sector.
The government called for members of the public and organizations to submit a response to the recommendations before they are finalized by the Health Care Standards Development Committee.
To help strengthen our response to these recommendations, CNIB held virtual consultation sessions with Ontarians who are blind or partially sighted from across the province, so that we could include that feedback in our own report to the government. Thank you to everyone who participated and provided their feedback.
While our report directly comments on the content of the recommendations, we also urge the Ontario government to look beyond only applying these standards to hospitals. People with disabilities access every part of the health care sector on a regular basis and have a right to accessible treatment regardless of which part of the health care sector are accessing.
Read CNIB’s Response to the AODA Healthcare Standard recommendations
Read the Health Care Standards Development Committee’s initial recommendations
The government will be accepting feedback until September 13, 2021.