ORC Hosts The Hon. David C. Onley, Lt. Governor of Ontario on International Day of Persons with Disabilities
On Thursday, December 3, Ontario Realty Corporation celebrated the International Day of Persons with Disabilities by hosting the Hon. David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, at ORC’s 1 Dundas head office in Toronto.
As the Queen’s representative in Ontario, and the province's first Lieutenant Governor with a disability, His Honour has taken accessibility as the major theme of his mandate, and defines it as ‘that which enables people to reach their full potential.’
Accompanied by his wife, The Honourable Ruth Ann Onley and Aide-de-Camp Bruce Gougeon, Their Honours were received by ORC President and CEO Dave Glass before moving to the Granite boardroom to address ORC staff.
A former reporter and television news anchor, His Honour appeared immediately comfortable while addressing ORC staff in a conversational style.
His Honour began by noting that ORC is an important part of a significant shift in thinking to make all government facilities fully accessible - to the benefit of everyone.
He noted that removal of barriers can often be very simple, inexpensive solutions that ultimately make things easier for absolutely everyone. His Honour singled out ORC’s construction of the discreet accessible sloping sidewalk at Osgoode Hall as “quite amazing.” While visiting Osgoode Hall, he had personally observed almost everyone using it – able bodied or otherwise – a “very creative” solution that has not damaged the heritage value of the site.
His Honour also shared some startling statistics: 15.5 per cent of Ontarians have some form of physical, developmental or non-visible disability, and when one includes immediate family members and caregivers, this number grows to over 50 per cent of Ontarians.
His Honour also discussed a recent study that revealed that many individuals with disabilities live well below the poverty line due to a lack of workplace opportunity. Myths and misperceptions by employers about higher absenteeism and turnover, the perceived high cost of adapting a work place, and even the fear of not knowing how to fire someone were causing this lack of opportunity. 73 per cent of surveyed employers admitted that they knew nothing about the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and that 22 per cent had only ‘some’ awareness.
His Honour explained that employers who had hired persons with disabilities reported that these employees not only brought a fresh perspective on customer service and the built environment, but that these employees actually worked harder, were absent less often and had higher retention rates. These employees were also generally considered to be excellent problem solvers due to the daily challenges they face.
His Honour concluded by recounting a few important questions that he had heard and felt particularly touched by while attending a Rotary Club event: if accessibility is defined by the common, every day door, can the blind person find it? Can someone with severe arthritis use the knob? Can the person with an arm injury push it open? Can the person with the mobility device get through it? And the most important question, are those without accessibility issues prepared to open the most important door of all – the doors to their minds? He added, “by creating accessible spaces, we are literally removing an aspect of their disability and enabling their ability to emerge.”
12/10/2009 2:33:25 PM