Mississauga Focuses on Building an Inclusive, Barrier-Free City by Advancing Its Multi-Year Accessibility Plan

With National AccessAbility Week around the corner, the City of Mississauga is pleased to share its achievements on the Multi-Year Accessibility Plan: 2018-2022. At the end of 2021, the City saw a 95 per cent completion rate and met 61 of 64 accessibility commitments, with the remaining three on track to be completed this year.

“The City of Mississauga is fully committed to building a more inclusive and accessible future, and we’ve made removing barriers and building in these considerations a priority in our planning,” said Mayor Bonnie Crombie. “We know that approximately 174,000 Mississaugans live and work in our community with a disability, and we want to create a Mississauga where all residents and visitors have access to services, programs and facilities in a manner that is integrated and enjoyable for all.”

The 2021 annual status update includes the following highlights:

• Elevator renewal and accessibility upgrades at five City facilities: Clarke Memorial Hall, Erin Mills Twin Arena, Huron Park Community Centre, Clarkson Community Centre and MiWay administration offices.
• Working to establish a more inclusive employment culture: updated three internal training modules to incorporate accessibility, including closed captioning.
• Submitted Mississauga’s accessibility compliance report to the Government of Ontario, showing a 97 per cent compliance rate.
• Added improvements to MiWay’s transit infrastructure, such as concrete bus stop pads at 70 locations and piloting an accessible priority seating program on one of the buses.
• Raised awareness on accessibility in the community by hosting a variety of virtual events as part of the City’s recognition of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3, 2021. One event helped set a Guinness World Record for the most users to take an assistive technology lesson within 24 hours; staff also conducted accessibility audits of all Ontario Parasport Games venues and worked with staff to improve accessibility for the games.

The goal of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) is to identify, prevent and remove barriers to make Ontario accessible by 2025. The AODA requires organizations in Ontario to develop a multi-year accessibility plan – this is the City’s second multi-year plan.

“The accomplishments highlighted in this report demonstrate the City’s commitment to creating a barrier-free environment for all residents and visitors,” said Shari Lichterman, Commissioner of Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer, City of Mississauga. “Accessibility innovation at the City goes beyond the requirements under the AODA’s standards. Across business areas, staff are passionate champions who seek opportunities to showcase and improve accessibility across the community. Our Multi-Year Accessibility Plan outlines the actions the City is taking to meet and go beyond our legislated obligations to identify, prevent and remove barriers for persons with disabilities. These achievements translate into increased opportunities for everyone of all abilities to fully participate in the social, cultural and recreational life of Mississauga.”

The City will continue to build awareness on accessibility by participating in this year’s National AccessAbility Week from May 29 to June 4, 2022. Everyone is encouraged to take part in this year’s active lineup, which includes an adaptive Fresh Air Fitness event and Movie Night at Mississauga Celebration Square with accommodation options (captioning and assistive listening devices).

To learn more about the City’s commitments to advancing accessibility and to read the 2021 annual status update, visit mississauga.ca/accessibility.

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• Access and Accessibility