The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA, 2005), which became law on June 13, 2005, provided the province with the mandate to develop, implement and enforce accessibility standards.  The AODA applies to both public and private sector organizations that employ at least 20 employees in Ontario and provide goods, service, facilities or accommodation to the public.  There are five accessibility standards in various stages of development and implementation:

·      Customer service which refers to delivering service to the public and includes business practices and employee training.

·      Transportation, a sector-specific standard which refers to the modes of passenger transport within provincial and municipal transit and taxis.

·      Built environment which refers to access to/from and within buildings and outdoor spaces and could include counter heights, aisle, door width, parking, and signs, as well as pedestrian access routes and signal systems.

·      Information and communications which refers to information processing and communication, and could include publications, software applications, and website.

·      Employment which refers to hiring and retaining of an employee, and could include employment practices, policies, and processes

To date, only Accessibility Standards for Customer Service (Ontario Regulation 429/07) has become law.

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