CambridgeToday received the following letter about the provincial government's promise to make Ontario fully accessible by Jan. 1, 2025. It has still not kept that promise.
This New Year’s Eve, my son Holden took in the tradition of eating 12 grapes under a table in hopes of prosperity in 2025. So as the clock struck midnight, under a folding table propped up on boards spread across chairs so Holden in his wheelchair could fit, he ate his magic grapes one by one before tucking in for the night.
The next morning, while most Ontarians were waking up on New Year’s Day groggy from late-night celebrations, Holden, like many others with disabilities, woke up to something far worse: the crushing realization that his grapes were not magic and Ontario is still not fully accessible. Twenty years ago, the government vowed that by Jan. 1, 2025, our province would be a utopia of ramps, elevators, and braille signs. Instead, we’ve got a broken escalator, a "closed for maintenance" sign, and a shrug from Queen’s Park.
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) was supposed to be the ultimate New Year’s resolution—ambitious, life-changing, and something we’d actually stick to. But like that gym membership everyone buys in January, it’s clear the government lost interest around February… of 2005.
Holden, who uses a wheelchair, wasn’t expecting a parade this New Year’s Day, but he also wasn’t expecting the same old obstacles.
Over the past two decades, we’ve had more premiers than we’ve had meaningful improvements in accessibility. Every government promised change, but instead of delivering ramps, they delivered excuses. “We’re making progress!” they said, while the goalposts quietly rolled into the next decade. If procrastination were an Olympic sport, Ontario would take gold.
But here’s the kicker: people like Holden aren’t asking for the moon. They’re asking for an Ontario where getting to work, visiting friends, or going to the doctor doesn’t feel like competing on The Amazing Race: Accessibility Edition. Is that really so hard?
The deadline has come and gone, but the barriers remain. Maybe it’s time for a new resolution: less talk, more action. And while we’re at it, let’s aim for an Ontario where accessibility isn’t treated like a nice-to-have but as the basic right it always should’ve been.
Devin Sisak
Cambridge
