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Ontarians with disabilities still wait for accessibility law WebPosted Thu May 25 00:30:21 2000 TORONTO-- People with disabilities in Ontario are marking five years since they were promised a law that would make buildings, services and programs accessible — and the same five years that promise hasn't been fulfilled. Five years ago Wednesday, Ontario Premier Mike Harris wrote to a disability group that "a Harris government would be willing to enact an Ontarians with Disabilities Act (ODA) in the first term of office." Since then, the legislation hasn't passed and, despite repeated requests, Harris and his government haven't met with a citizen's group pushing the accessibility law. David Lepofsky heads the ODA citizen's committee. In his own apartment building, he says only two floors are marked in braille so he can read them. "You'll drop dead from exhaustion battling one barrier at a time," says Lepofsky. "That's why we need an Ontarians with Disability Act, so these barriers can be faced in a comprehensive way." In 1998, the Ontario government introduced Bill 83 but it died on the order paper. Harris says the minister responsible for disability issues is talking to people with disabilities. But she hasn't met with Lepofsky's group and she isn't saying who she's consulting with. Copyright © 2000 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - All Rights Reserved "http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/print.cgi?/news/2000/05/24/ont_disabilities000524" janet paterson 53 now / 41 dx / 37 onset 613 256 8340 / PO Box 171 Almonte Ontario K0A 1A0 Canada visit my website "a new voice" at: http://www.geocities.com/janet313/