Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC)

An Accessible Township of Woolwich

Provincial Legislation

The Ontarians with Disabilities Act was approved by the Province of Ontario in 2001. It requires municipalities to reduce barriers in their communities for persons with disabilities. The Act is commonly referred to as the "ODA" and applies only to the public sector. You may view a copy of the Ontarians For Disabilities Act, 2001 by clicking here.

There is another Provincial Act that relates to accessibility in the Province of Ontario. In 2005, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 was approved. It's commonly referred to as the "AODA" and Ontario municipalities are currently waiting for the Province to introduce regulations on how to implement the new Act. The AODA will apply to both the public and private sectors. To see a copy of the new Accessibility for Ontarians With Disabilities Act, 2005 click here.

Township staff will continue to work under the provisions of the ODA until the regulations for the new Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 are available. Those regulations are anticipated to be available later in 2006.

Annual Accessibility Plan for the Township of Woolwich

The ODA requires Ontario municipalities to prepare annual accessibility plans outlining municipal efforts to remove barriers in the community for persons with disabilities. The Township of Woolwich prepares an annual accessibility plan that outlines what actions we took in the past year and what actions we will take in the coming year to remove barriers. Plans have bee prepared since 2004 in a joint effort with the Cities of Kitchener and Waterloo and the Townships of North Dumfries and Wellesley. Click here to request a copy of the current accessibility plan.

Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee

The Ontarians with Disabilities Act requires municipalities with populations of 10,000 or more people to have an accessibility advisory committee with at least 50% of members being persons with disabilities. The advisory committee for the Township of Woolwich is the Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee, commonly known as GRAAC. The committee has 15 members who meet monthly in Kitchener to discuss barrier removal in the communities of Waterloo, Kitchener, the Township of North Dumfries, the Township of Wellesley and the Township of Woolwich. GRAAC also provides accessibility advice to the Region of Waterloo.

Are you interested in finding out more about the Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee? Visit www.graac.ca to find out details such as terms of reference, agendas and minutes.