MEDIA RELEASE – Toronto, ON

OBIAA and the Ontario Government

Accessibility Smart Businesses

Ontario Business Improvement Area Association (OBIAA) and the Government of Ontario, are announcing their collaboration to build accessible communities within the 200+ member business improvement areas (BIAs) of Ontario. Funding for this partnership comes from the Government of Ontario’s EnAbling Change Program.

“We look forward to reaching out to Ontario’s BIAs and their Business Employers with this second EnAbling Change Partnership,” said Ellen Timms, President of OBIAA

Accessibility Smart Businesses is a 9-month provincial outreach strategy to educate BIAs and their local businesses about the benefits of hiring people with disabilities. OBIAA will form a Project Advisory Committee and is inviting expressions of interest from BIAs, municipal Accessibility Advisory Committees, as well as the business and disability communities to help build a greater understanding of accessibility and how to bring new employees with various disabilities into their businesses. OBIAA is currently seeking members of the Advisory Committee, for more information contact OBIAA at [email protected]. Advisory Committee Terms of Reference.

The project will expand the Accessibility portal on the OBIAA website, engage BIA staff and local businesses with an Employer Engagement campaign across the province through workshops with accompanying tools and resources.

As we begin this project, we will seek BIAs, Municipalities and Businesses who champion the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) at the OBIAA Awards in the category of Ontario MainStreet Accessibility Awards. These annual awards celebrate and recognize best practices in local BIAs. The awards are open for two areas under the AODA; one for BIAs (which could be in partnership with their Municipality) and one for individual businesses.

Incorporated in 2001, OBIAA acts as an important resource for education, partnership and collaboration to each BIA across the province. OBIAA recognizes the power of networking, the strength in numbers and the value of sharing common concerns and finding resolutions specific to our individual communities.

OBIAA, through its membership, represents, supports and encourages business improvement areas to increase their effectiveness and their contribution to the economic, cultural and social well-being of communities in Ontario.

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For more information on the collaboration project, please contact:

Kay Matthews, Executive Director

1-866-807-2227 | [email protected]