On this day, CUPE Ontario and the Workers with Disabilities Committee affirm our union’s commitment to justice, fairness, and inclusion for persons with disabilities. December 3 is a reminder that CUPE members across the province are unceasing in their demands for accessibility, dignity and equity, and of the responsibility we have as trade unionists to be at the forefront of that fight for those rights.
The theme for this year’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities is “Fostering disability inclusive societies for advancing social progress.” Its calls for poverty eradication, productive employment, decent work, and social integration strongly echo the work of our union.
We know that disabilities take many forms – physical, neurodivergent, intellectual, developmental, mental health-related, visible and invisible, temporary and permanent. As the UN site notes, persons with disabilities are “more likely to live in poverty… face discrimination in employment… [have] social protection systems [that] are uneven in coverage… [and whose] support systems continue to be marked by the denial of their dignity, autonomy and agency.” These realities are all ones that we seek to transform through the tools and vehicles available to us as trade unionists.
In CUPE Ontario, persons with disabilities are represented among our membership in every sector, at every level and in every local. They are our co-workers, our friends, and our neighbours; they are us. Their experiences remind us that accessibility is not optional; it is a right.
In Ontario, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) was meant to ensure universal accessibility for all by 2025. It took decades of tireless activism and advocacy to get this legislation passed. But excessively long timelines and weak enforcement means that, rather than celebrating the AODA’s successes and achievements in this milestone year, we still see everywhere barriers for people with disabilities, whether it’s in services, employment, accommodation, or buildings.
The Ford Conservatives have worsened the outcomes, having gutted the Act’s requirements and reducing them seemingly to mere suggestions.
The right to accessibility, however, is not optional; it is a matter of life, dignity, and justice. Because when barriers to inclusion remain in places, they exclude people from participating fully and we are denied their contributions.
Government inaction like the Ford government’s means perpetuating inequality. The current political zeitgeist is all about “building,” as governments boast about building more and bigger schools, hospitals, homes, and infrastructure. But nowhere in the discussions do we hears about the requirements for universal design. Where is the guarantee that Ontario’s and Canada’s new “build” spree will be made up of new buildings that are accessible to all? The AODA was supposed to change the way we build, requiring universal accessibility design to be incorporated into every project. Yet governments are failing to enforce it. They may build, but they do not build for everyone.
This failure makes the International Day of Persons with Disabilities a local concern as much as a global one. When we mark this day in Ontario, we must remind ourselves that the Ford Conservatives are not only failing to help – they are actively making things worse.
The Conservatives’ Bill 5 is a case in point: in the “special economic ones” allowed under the law, accessibility requirements can be ignored to save developers money. This is not progress; it’s regression and a direct attack on the rights of persons with disabilities. It makes a mockery of the aims and goals of the AODA.
But we can be proud that, at CUPE Ontario, we take accessibility more seriously. At our 2025 convention, we passed a resolution requiring all staff and elected members to receive AODA training. This training, to be completed in early 2026, is more than symbolic. It is a commitment to ensuring that our union itself embodies the principles of accessibility and inclusion. We recognize that accessibility is not only about physical spaces, but also about education, training, and awareness. To fulfill our commitment to persons with disabilities inside and outside our union, we must lead by example.
On this International Day of Persons with Disabilities, CUPE Ontario calls on governments to stop delaying, stop cutting, and start building accessibility into every project, every policy, and every workplace. We call on the Ford Conservatives to reverse their attacks on accessibility, to enforce universal design standards, and to honour the vision of the AODA. We also call on all governments to recognize that persons with disabilities deserve more than words; they deserve action.
CUPE Ontario will continue to fight for accessibility, for inclusion, and for justice. We will continue to advocate on behalf of and alongside persons with disabilities, in our workplaces and in our communities. And we will continue to remind governments that accessibility is not optional, but essential.
On this International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we recommit to building a province and a union in which every person, regardless of ability, can participate fully and equally. Because accessibility is not a favour—it is a right. And rights must be defended.
