Writing an article on accessibility and disability related legislation is different. It is much more like writing a high school essay or a technical road map of what is out there. What was missing at first was the lack of personal narratives on the subject.
So thinking it over, I decided to share my stories as I have witnessed accessibility legislation in my environment. This means citizen of (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada). In order to understand legislation, I must discuss with my readers the concept of jurisdiction. There are many laws that fall under different jurisdictions (Municipal, Provincial, Country). You need to understand that combination in order to understand the applicable legislation.
Think of this, Ottawa is Municipal, Ontario is my provincial jurisdiction, and Canada is Federal jurisdiction. Ottawa has a special status because it is the center of Canada's central government (federal jurisdiction). In contrast, in the United States residents in capital of their central government reside in a special District created for housing their central government. This means that people working and living in the capital do not have the similar equivalent of a provincial identity.
This means that living in Ottawa, I have had the opportunity of working under Federal legislation for Public Servants with Disabilities but living with a Provincial jurisdiction.
I will be speaking about the following observations of Accessibility legislation along with a control example of non-governmental accessibility initiative.
1. Accessibility for Ontarions with Disabilities Act
In several work placements in the professional field and many volunteer experiences.
Since the 2000's there is now a requirement for any staff or volunteer for an event that deals with the public to have training on accessibility for their clients.
I did not receive this type of training when I was a youth in volunteer or part time work positions.
This represents a very major change in general education for the society of Ontario. In the past, people just didn't have the knowledge that is now the minimum standard for many employees and volunteers.
2. Paracor Canada
In university at Carleton, I witnessed one of my friends build the Paracor Intiative as a means to advance accessibility for people with disabilities. It was not mandated by any legislation. It simply grew up into what it is today, through hard work.
I am not authorized to share any personal narratives, but I can share a link to Paracor's historical development. The way back machine makes an archive of webpages. On it you can see the evolution of the Paracor Initiative's website.
https://web.archive.org/web/*/www.paracor.org
3. Nova Scotia's Accessibility Act
Nova Scotia is the third province to have passed legislation to help people with disabilities. Manitoba was second after Ontario. My personal narrative with Nova Scotia's introduction of their legislation is associated with the start up of The Access Ability Program in Ontario.
Then there was the strategic excitement of finding Nova Scotia a ripe new market with their new legislation being passed this year (2017).
This was followed by the heart warming knowledge that a unique, The Access Ability Program, exists in Nova Scotia to help fund accessibility projects. Meanwhile, The Access Ability Program in Ontario is a registered sole proprietorship.
But lastly there was an insightful moment in the business when I was talking with a business owner in Manitoba. I explained that there are disabled persons who would like to buy sports equipment or fishing equipment.
That was when the really good cause became a very viable business market