People with disabilities say changes are needed now to Ontario building code

Kristen Rhodes, 22, has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair to get around but has never allowed that to prevent her from doing the things she loves and going to places she wants to visit. Accessing some of those places, though has been a different story.

“Nearly everywhere I go there seems to be a barrier to accessing them,” she told us.

Such was the case two weeks ago, when Rhodes and her father, David, went to visit a newly opened restaurant on Roncesvalles Avenue, near her home.

“Kristen mostly has been waiting for the new Tim Hortons to open,” her father said. “We’ve been watching them renovate and get the building all fixed up, so she was really excited to go check it out.”

But they say the new store, which opened earlier this month, forgot a big piece, much to their surprise.

“We tried to go in and there’s no accessible entrance,” David said. “They did all this work to renovate the building but couldn’t add a ramp in the process? We just don’t understand that.”

David said he was forced to leave Kristen on the street while he went in to investigate.   

“I asked them if they have an accessible entrance. They said they do not and didn’t have to build one under the permit.”

According to Ontario’s Building Code, restaurant management are correct.

“In this instance, the permit was reviewed in accordance with the Ontario Building Code, and since the renovation to the suite (although extensive) was less than 300 square metres, there was no requirement to make the entrance accessible,“ a City spokesperson told us.

A new business can be required to create an accessible entrance but only when the permit issued for that business has been changed, for instance if it was going from a residential space to a commercial one. Tim Hortons was renovating an existing commercial space so, under existing building code, did not have to provide access. 

“My first reaction when I hear stories like this is it’s simply it’s devastating,” said Anthony Frisina, who is with the Ontario Disability Coalition.

“While the store was being quote-unquote compliant, in good faith, is it really servicing the community at large in which it is meant to?” Frisina asked.

Speakers Corner reached out to Tim Hortons. A spokesperson thanked us for alerting them to the concerns and promised to investigate the issue. “We believe it is very important for everyone to be able to access our restaurants and we are following up to resolve this issue as soon as possible.”

While the Rhodes family and Frisina hope it leads to change at that location, they say it’s another glaring example of how Ontario won’t meet a goal set under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) to make all businesses, new or old, accessible by 2025.

The Act, enacted in 2005, set out to enforce standards for accessibility related to goods, services, facilities, employment, accommodation and buildings. The goal was for everything to be compliant no later than January 1, 2025.

“It’s really all good on paper,” Frisina said. “But what about the enforcement of it? What are we going to do to ensure that the Act’s deadline of January 1, 2025 is being enforced to the letter of the law?” Frisina asked.

Speakers Corner reached out to Wallace Pidgeon director of communications for the Minister of Seniors and Accessibility Raymond Cho, who says changes are being made.

“The Ontario Building Code is being revised. Project by project, community by community, the province is making progress in all aspects of infrastructure investments.”

We then asked the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing whether those revisions will still allow exceptions for newly opened establishments who take over existing commercial space from providing access, but did not yet receive a response.

To date, disability advocates say there are thousands of accessibility issues across the province. From public infrastructure, like transit, to privately owned businesses.

They say the province is nowhere near its goal of being “fully accessible” by 2025.

“Maybe 2030 is optimistic at best,” Frisina said. “We talk about codes and standards all the time. But those standards are minimum at best and the legislation is more often than not written and adhered to by those who don’t necessarily require the specific piece of legislation.”

Speakers Corner spoke with Toronto city councillor, Gord Perks, who represents the ward where this Tim Hortons is located.

He told us he too is skeptical Ontario will meet the 2025 goal as many existing businesses say the costs to retrofit their establishments to make them accessible will be high.

“We have said to the province there is this huge problem coming if they ask every small business to retrofit,” he said. “We suggested they should think about a grant program to help with the transition but the province hasn’t said how they want to handle that.”

Pidgeon says people can follow a process to report businesses they feel are in violation of the AODA.

“The Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility uses a modern regulator approach and works with organizations, businesses and municipalities through various reporting mechanisms to meet, achieve or exceed AODA standards,” he said.

“Last year, 2023, close to 98 per cent of all complaints were resolved using this approach. The outstanding were reviewed and work was done to address these issues through various reporting channels. This could include going to the Human Rights Commission.”

But disability advocates say it shouldn’t be up to them to report barriers they find. They feel more discussion is needed to ensure businesses understand the AODA and work to follow it.

“I’m not here to make that Tim Hortons look bad or anybody look bad,” Frisina said. “I’m here to educate them on the importance of accessibility and inclusion as the right thing to do.”

“I understand older stores that haven’t been able to convert yet, but on a brand new one to try and get around a building code for one year. I just don’t get it,” Rhodes added.

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