The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) was passed by the Ontario Legislature with the goal of creating standards to improve accessibility across the province in the following five areas:

Joint Accessibility Plan

Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c.32 - The Ontarians with Disabilities Act is commonly known as the “ODA”.   This Act was passed into law by the Ontario Legislature on December 4, 2001.  The goal of the Act is “to improve opportunities for persons with disabilities and to provide for their involvement in the identification, removal and prevention of barriers to their full participation in the life of the Province.”  The ODA applies to all municipalities, hospitals, district school boards, colleges, universities, public transportation organizations, the Ontario Government, ministries and agencies.
ODA requires municipalities to prepare annual accessibility plans and to get advice from an accessibility advisory committee on the contents of the plan.  The ODA will eventually be repealed when all accessibility standards of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act are in place.

GRAND RIVER ACCESSIBILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE (GRAAC)

The Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC) is an advisory committee serving the Councils of the Cities of Kitchener and Waterloo and the Townships of North Dumfries, Woolwich and Wellesley. Staff representatives of each municipality participate in a joint recruitment process annually to fill GRAAC vacancies and each Council passes a resolution to appoint new members.  GRAAC is made up of between 12 and 15 volunteers and advises the Councils on accessibility issues including their annual accessibility plans.