- Trends and Issues
- D.1 Emerging Trends
- By the year 2021, forecasts for the Region of Peel indicate that about 15 per cent of the population will be aged 65 or older
- Incidence of disability increases significantly with age, which indicates that the number of persons with disabilities and the related needs to access Regional services can be expected to increase at a relatively high rate over the next 20 years
- Highest rate of growth in Peel is the population of seniors (69 per cent increase in the seniors’ population in the last five years)
- Increased demand for adequate transportation for persons with mobility disabilities
- Rapid population growth and development in the region of Peel
- Citizen/client/customer focus creates expectation of immediate response to accessibility issues
- Reduction in financial resources to address accessibility issues
- More seniors and people with disabilities are living in family structures
- Increased expectations from compliance agencies (such as Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC))
- Increasing expectation for municipal governments to serve as delivery agents for provincial policies
See Appendix IV for illustration of data that provide more details on the emerging trends.
- D.2 Key Strategic Issues
- Compliance with existing and new legislation (ODA, AODA, Planning Act, OHRC, Ontario Building Code)
- Growing expectations for municipal governments to immediately respond to the accessibility needs of its customers, clients, citizens and employees
- Planning for Peel’s rapidly growing population and aging citizens
- Establishing an effective accessibility planning program infrastructure within the Region, including development of efficient and effective processes
- Building and maintaining momentum among staff and AAC for addressing foundational issues for a sustainable and meaningful change
- Creating collaborative internal and external partnerships to identify and address current and emerging accessibility issues
- Level of awareness and understanding of: different types of disabilities; the identification, removal and prevention of barriers; and the ODA and AODA requirements among staff, Regional Council and the public
Trends and Issues (PDF 108KB, 2 pages)