The Accessibility Toolbox

The AAC is founded on the belief that accessible housing benefits everyone, and that an inclusive and prosperous country is where people of all ages and abilities can participate fully in society – including having access to barrier-free homes. For Canada to fully realize this vision, the supply of accessible housing needs to match the growing demand.

According to Statistics Canada, in 2022, 27 percent of Canadians aged 15 years and over (8 million people) identified as having one or more disabilities that limited them in their daily activities – a 5% increase from 2017. From 2017 data, among those with physical disabilities, 44.9 percent required at least one type of aid or assistive device or an accessibility feature within their home, including ramps, a walk-in bath or shower, a lift device or elevator, lowered counters, or automatic doors.

Yet many Canadians living with disabilities face significant barriers related to homes and facilities. As the population continues to age the challenges will continue to increase.

The Accessibility Toolbox offers tools that developers can use today to make the homes they build more accessible, without waiting for building codes or legislation to catch up to the current and evolving needs of the Canadian population.

This Toolbox highlights the work and best practices of participating AAC partners including standards, certifications, expert services, and connections to organizations representing people with disabilities. If you have a tool or tip for the toolbox, write to Linda Weichel with Accessibility Coalition in the subject line.

AccessNow

AccessNow is a mobile app and website that shares information about the accessibility status of places around the world. Designed to empower people with disabilities, the platform crowdsources reviews and works with business owners to publish aspects of accessibility like accessible parking and washrooms, elevators, ramps, scent-free and quiet spaces, and much more. For more information, visit www.accessnow.com.

Tools:

1. MapMissions: These exercises are a great way to engage employees and stakeholders to learn about accessibility issues, create awareness and generate empathy through experiential learning. The MapMissions are also a concrete and actionable way to begin dialogue with the community/communities of people with disabilities and result in measurable outcomes with a geographic focus.

2. AccessNow Verified: Our Verified Program is a way we engage businesses to assess their existing accessibility and publish those results on AccessNow to then begin a feedback loop/open channel of communication with people with disabilities on the AccessNow platform.

Contact Information:

Accessibility Standards Canada

People with disabilities lead Accessibility Standards Canada to create a Canada without barriers. We work with people with disabilities to:

  • create modern accessibility standards in priority areas;
  • revise current accessibility standards;
  • lead research; and
  • support society to reach the highest level of accessibility.

Tools

Accessibility Standards Canada and CSA Group collaborate to publish three new accessibility standards – Accessibility Standards Canada

The standards are:

1. CSA/ASC B651, Accessible design for the built environment;

2. CSA/ASC B651.2, Accessible design for self-service interactive devices including automated banking machines; and,

3. CSA/ASC B652, Accessible dwellings.

Development of these standards draws on the expertise, knowledge, and resources of both organizations. These standards were made possible because of the contributions of people with disabilities involved in their development, combined with the public feedback gathered during the public review processes.

Contact information:

 

Australian Building Codes Board

The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) is a standards writing body responsible for the National Construction Code, WaterMark and CodeMark Australia Certification Schemes.

Its focus is on developing and maintaining minimum, proportionate and cost-effective technical requirements that provide for the health and safety, amenity and accessibility, and sustainability of buildings.

Tools:

  1. Livable Housing Design Standard: This ABCB Standard provides a set of technical provisions that if complied with will enable dwellings to better meet the needs of the community, including older people and people with mobility limitations. This ABCB Standard has been adapted from the ‘Silver’ level requirements of the Livable Housing Design Guidelines fourth edition, 2017, which were first published by Livable Housing Australia.
  2. .In April 2023, the ABCB released two publications to support practitioners’ understanding of the new livable housing design provisions in the NCC, and the ABCB Standard for Livable Housing Design. These non-mandatory documents include the ABCB Handbook for Livable Housing Design and the ABCB Voluntary Standard for Livable Housing Design: Beyond Minimum.

Contact Information:

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

CMHC exists to make housing affordable for everyone in Canada. The National Housing Strategy is a 10-year plan that recognizes that housing data, goals and timelines are essential to improving the quality of life of the people of Canada, and particularly persons in greatest need. It is CMHC’s goal that “By 2030, everyone in Canada has a home that they can afford and that meets their needs”.

Tools:

1.Universal design for new multi-unit residential buildings

Universal design is the design of an environment that can be accessed, understood and used by all people regardless of their age, size, ability or disability. It also recognizes that peoples’ needs can change over time.

This guide is for designers, builders and developers of multi-unit residential buildings.

2. MLI Select

An innovative new multi-unit mortgage loan insurance product focused on affordability, accessibility, and climate compatibility.

MLI Select uses a point system to offer insurance incentives based on affordability, energy efficiency, and accessibility. Incentives are available for new construction and existing properties.

Contact Information:

CNIB Access Labs

At CNIB Access Labs, we value the importance of sharing knowledge, expertise and lived experience when it comes to accessibility. As part of the CNIB Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1918, we have the unique knowledge and experience to assist you in achieving your accessibility goals.

In 2019, after celebrating its hundredth anniversary, CNIB Foundation acquired CNIB Access Labs (then called Frontier Computing) to strengthen its business-to-business relationships, with the goal of making Canada as accessible and inclusive as possible.

One hundred percent of the revenue raised by CNIB Access Labs goes towards funding the CNIB Foundation and its charitable mission to provide innovative programs and powerful advocacy that enable Canadians impacted by blindness to live the lives they choose. For this reason, we actively partner with many other pioneering organizations both in Canada and worldwide, including Vision Loss Rehabilitation Canada, the Royal National Institute for the Blind, the American Printing House for the Blind, and Vision Australia.

Tools:

  • Products and technology: We work with you to develop a personalized solution that fits your organizational needs.
  • Workplace accommodations: We’ll help you hire and work with the best candidates and integrate accessible technology and resources into your workplace.
  • Digital platforms: We provide audits and work with you to perform lived experience user testing, to ensure all your digital platforms meet global accessibility standards.
  • Navigation and wayfinding: We help integrate technological solutions to ensure that everyone can safely navigate your business and its surrounding environment.
  • Support and training: We provide comprehensive accessibility training to fit your unique organizational needs.
  • Communication materials: We support your organization to create accessible content.
  • Clearing Our Path guidelines: https://clearingourpath.ca/
  • GoodMaps for indoor autonomous, accessible navigation: https://goodmaps.com/

Learn more about what CNIB can offer.

Contact:

City of Toronto

Message from the City of Toronto: The City released its updated Toronto Accessibility Design Guidelines in 2021. This is a living document that will adapt to the changes of Toronto’s diverse society, and is an important step towards achieving the City of Toronto’s commitment to a barrier-free city. Based on the principles of respect, dignity and inclusion, these Guidelines – first introduced in April 2004 and updated in 2021 – support the City’s Statement of Commitment to Creating an Accessible City, and are a key component of the Multi-year Accessibility Plan and Corporate Accessibility Policy.

The Guidelines enable City buildings, parks and open spaces to adhere to universal design, ensuring that City properties provide accessible, equitable, and barrier-free access to services for all people, especially people with disabilities. We’re also pleased to share these Guidelines with businesses and organizations from all sectors. It is our hope that they too can use these Guidelines to proactively plan to build or renovate their properties and spaces to be accessible and free of barriers.

Learn more about Toronto Accessibility Design Guidelines.

Rick Hansen Foundation

The Rick Hansen Foundation (RHF) offers a range of Accessibility Advisory Services designed to support organizations on their journey towards increased accessibility and inclusion for people of all ages and abilities. Whether you’re looking to promote disability awareness within your organization, improve access within your current facilities or ensure new buildings are designed to meet best practices in Universal Design, we can help.

Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification (RHFAC) is a national rating system that measures and certifies the level of meaningful access of buildings and sites. Get an RHFAC rating to better understand your physical accessibility, how you can improve, and identify barriers for your community, customers, or employees.

RHF also offers accessibility training and education which allows built environment professionals to obtain the RHFAC Professional designation, qualifying them to conduct RHFAC ratings within existing buildings and pre-construction plans. Tuition Grants are currently available to residents of Ontario and BC as well as people with disabilities across Canada.

Tools:

  1. Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification Brochure
  2. Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification Training Brochure
  3. Accessibility Advisory Services

Contact Information:

R-PATH Committee

The Responsible Personal Accessibility in Toronto Housing (R-PATH) Committee is a resident-led group established in May 2013. The committee’s goal is to improve the quality of life for people with physical disabilities and to support Toronto Community Housing in being a leader in accessible housing.

The R-PATH Committee works with the Toronto Community Housing management team to identify and remove accessibility barriers, improving the lives of residents with physical disabilities.

Tools:

  1.  Standards: We have co-authored the Toronto Community Housing Accessibility Build Standards for new and existing builds. You can download the standards at: https://www.torontohousing.ca/accessibility-in-built-environment-policy.
  2. Tenants’ Video: Scroll down to see a YouTube link for What are TCHC Accessibility Build Standards: Tenants explain. https://www.torontohousing.ca/current-tenants/accessibility-tchc/responsible-personal-accessibility-toronto-housing-r-path

Contact Information:

StopGap Foundation

StopGap Foundation is helping create a world where every person can access every space. The Foundation helps communities discover the benefits of barrier-free spaces and provides support in creating them through fun and engaging programs.

StopGap works with different community leaders across Canada delivering education and resources that inspire societal perspective shifts, the removal of barriers in the built environment, and policy change. Their iconic brightly painted ramps can be found in more than 60 communities all over Canada, helping ensure our society’s collective understanding about the importance of accessibility and inclusion continues to advance and grow.

Tools:

1. Corporate Teambuilding: StopGap staff facilitate a 4-5hr experience involving up to 12 participants at StopGap’s shop location at 192 Spadina Avenue in Toronto. Corporate groups collaborate on painting ramps and enjoy a ‘lunch and learn’ style presentation on the topics of disability, inclusive vs. universal design, empowering language use, unconscious bias, and the StopGap story. This engaging program is designed to raise awareness, build community, and foster a sense of togetherness. All program fees are directed towards supporting StopGap’s education and awareness raising in elementary schools.

2. Ramps on Request: Help remove a barrier to access by ordering a custom built, colourful, deployable ramp for your single-stepped entryway. Each ramp is custom designed to fit step heights between 2” and 9”. The ramps are made of wood and an average-sized ramp for a 6” step height weighs around 30 lbs. The ramps are treated with high-grade exterior paint with a non-slip additive and come with two rope handles so they can be easily transported. StopGap ramps are made to have a 1:6 rise to run slope ratio, so for every 1” of step height the ramp design length increases by 6”. The design has gone through years of trial and error and results in a ramp that most find comfortable to deploy and use. The ramps are not intended to be a permanent solution, they are to be used on an as-needed basis to not only remove access barriers but also assist in raising awareness about many barriers in our communities.

Contact Information:

St. John’s Rehab Research Program

In 2023-2024 under the leadership of Program Director, Dr. Sander Hitzig, St. John’s Rehab Research Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, completed a project in collaboration with the Accelerating Accessibility Coalition. This research project was designed to co-create and gain consensus on a set of priorities for advancing practice, policy, and research on accessible housing in Canada. This project was funded by Accessibility Standards Canada/The Government of Canada and The Canadian Institutes for Health Research.

The top priorities identified for advancing accessible housing in Canada are: Government Engagement; Education Services and Resources; Diversity, Inclusion & Engagement Strategies.

Access the study results here:

Research Overview:

  1. Executive Summary (EN FR)
  2. Plain Text Executive Summary (EN FR)

Full Report:

  1. Research Report (EN FR)
  2. Plain Text Research Report (EN FR)

Contact information:

https://sunnybrook.ca/research/content/?page=sri-prog-stjohnsrehab

Email: [email protected]