Ontario is celebrating National Access Awareness Week and marking the fifth anniversary of the province’s groundbreaking Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005.

The first standard to be implemented under the act – for accessible customer service – is already in place for the broader public sector. By January 1, 2012, Ontario businesses will also have to meet the standard.

The province is currently developing four more accessibility standards: for information and communications, employment, transportation, and the built environment. The first three of these standards will be integrated into a single regulation, making them more flexible for businesses. It also responds to a key recommendation in Charles Beer’s review of the Act, which was released today.

People with disabilities regularly face barriers that prevent them from working, traveling in and enjoying their communities. Seniors also experience barriers to activities as part of the natural aging process. Ontario’s accessibility standards will break down these barriers so that people of all ages and abilities can more easily live, work and travel throughout the province.

Making the province accessible by 2025 will help Ontario tap into the economic power of thousands of customers and visitors with disabilities and harness a larger, more diverse labour pool. It supports the Open Ontario Plan to create new opportunities for jobs and growth.