Accessibility news and events

You are cordially invited to celebrate the City of Ottawa’s 21st annual AccessAbility Day event, held each year as part of National AccessAbility Week. This event will be in-person at Ottawa’s City Hall. The morning event will be livestreamed via the   
City’s YouTube channel.   

Date: Thursday, May 30, 2024   

Time: 10 am to 2:30 pm      

Location: Ottawa’s City Hall – 110 Laurier Ave. West  
  

One of the goals of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) is to become a fully accessible Ontario by 2025. With that milestone fast approaching, this year’s theme is “Looking towards 2025 and the future of accessibility”.  

Please join Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, City Councillors, senior leaders, staff and residents as we mark this important day.     

During the morning opening ceremony, Mayor Sutcliffe will provide remarks and proclaim AccessAbility Day in Ottawa. The event will also feature a keynote address from Phillip B. Turcotte, advocate, disability champion, and former chair of the City’s Accessibility Advisory Committee.   

In the afternoon, attendees will have the opportunity to provide feedback on accessibility at the City during consultations on the new City of Ottawa’s Municipal Accessibility Plan (COMAP), launching in 2025.   
 

Please register online.   

Registration will be open until Monday May 20. If you are unable to attend in-person, you can watch a live stream of the morning ceremony on the City of Ottawa's YouTube channel.    
 

To promote the inclusion of all participants, the following supports are in place for the event:      

• American Sign Language (ASL)      

• Langue des signes québécoise (LSQ)      

• Continuous real-time captioning in English and French      

• Simultaneous French audio translation      

• Personal Support Workers   

When registering, please let us know if you require any additional accommodations to participate.  We look forward to celebrating with you!     

The City of Ottawa recently hosted a virtual public information session and discussion on emergency preparedness for persons with disabilities. Coordinated by the Accessibility Office, the session included presentations from staff in the Office of Emergency Management and Ottawa Public Health who provided information and resources with a focus on key emergency preparedness considerations for those living with disabilities.

There has been an undeniable increase in climate-related emergencies over the past number years including heavy winds and tornadoes, heavy rainfall and flooding, as well as extreme cold and heat events. Additionally, given that the City is the nation’s capital, political demonstrations and protests have equally contributed to various recent emergency events and responses.

As such, when planning for emergencies, whether that requires sheltering in place or evacuating, all residents, including those with disabilities, must consider emergency planning that is tailored to each personal situation.

During the presentations, staff in the Office of Emergency Management highlighted the importance of social connections and personal supports, assistive devices, including back-up options in the event of a power outage, as well as considerations for the management of your health, including ensuring you have an adequate supply of medication, if possible.

Staff in Ottawa Public Health also presented on the diversity of our personal experiences, and that emergency preparedness is definitely not “one size fits all”. Staff went onto explain various considerations to keep in mind for either sheltering in place or evacuating, such as providing your emergency contacts with extra keys to be able to access your home, as well as important elements to include in your emergency kit and/or a go bag, not forgetting to include any supplies needed for pets and service animals.

Following the presentations, participants had the opportunity to engage with City staff from both teams with their own concerns, questions and feedback based on their personal experiences from past events.

Staff in the City’s Accessibility Office will be compiling all feedback, either shared during the event itself, as well as through the evaluation survey and all communications received post-event, and will share this with staff in the Office of Emergency Management and Ottawa Public Health for their awareness and establishment of future actions.

For those unable to attend the virtual event live, you can watch the recording on the City’s YouTube channel. 

Keep in touch with the Accessibility Office and get accessibility-related updates through the Accessibility Spotlight. Sign up using the City's eSubscriptions sign up form to receive the monthly e-newsletter directly to your email.

For information on or to receive previous Accessibility Spotlight articles, contact:

Accessibility Office
City of Ottawa
accessibilityoffice@ottawa.ca