09/11/2025
We know Canada and Ontario wants to build more homes fast, but we need to build them right. And in the meantime, accessible homes are disappearing in Windsor.
Build Canada Homes is on the horizon, but right now access isn't.
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‘Not on the agenda’: Will Ottawa prioritize accessible housing?
Ottawa wants to build more affordable homes, but it’s not clear if the homes will be accessible for people with disabilities – who are four times more likely to become homeless
by Meagan Gillmore | September 3, 2025
Dan Morillo tries not to worry about the day he will be unable to afford his wheelchair accessible apartment in Windsor, Ont.
“I try not to think about [rent increases],” said Morillo, 45, who just barely covers rent and groceries with his pension and long-term disability payments.
“Eventually, I know it’s going to happen.”
Morillo receives support through ALSO - Assisted Living Southwestern Ontario, a charity that helps seniors and people with physical disabilities live independently by providing rent subsidies and personal support workers.
The organization’s leaders also worry apartments will soon be too expensive for the people they support.
This summer, ALSO had to return a unit after a longtime tenant died and the property management company hiked the rent to current market rates. No one ALSO supports could afford it.
“I don’t know what the answer is,” said Tracey Crow, ALSO’s manager of services. “I guess the answer is more affordable housing options for people.”
Affordable housing alone may not solve the problem. The federal government recently announced the creation of a new agency to spearhead the construction of affordable housing. Disability advocates worry it is not prioritizing accessible housing as part of its plans.
More likely to be homeless
Disability advocates have long raised concerns about a lack of homes for Canadians with disabilities.
People with disabilities often have to move to long-term care facilities because their homes are not suitable for wheelchairs or walkers, or because they have no one to help them with daily living tasks.
Others become homeless. Canadians with disabilities are four times more likely to be homeless than Canadians without disabilities, the 2021 Canadian Housing Survey shows.
“If we really want to get to the heart of homelessness mitigation, we need to consider the issue of disability and accessibility and justice,” said Krista Davidson Flint, CEO of Accessible Housing, a non-profit that helps Calgarians with disabilities find housing.
Davidson Flint knows people who use wheelchairs who crawl down the stairs to their basement apartments because these are the only affordable units they could find.
Accessible Housing, which has existed for 50 years, recently launched a campaign to “raise an alarm bell about the lack of accessible and affordable housing,” she said.
The Canadian Home Builders’ Association estimates that 80 per cent of current homes in Canada would need some modifications to be suitable for people with disabilities or seniors who want to age in place.
In June, Canada’s first federal housing advocate, Marie-Josée Houle, called for a national review into the lack of accessible housing in Canada.
“Everyone in Canada has the fundamental right to adequate housing — and accessibility is essential to that right,” a statement from Houle’s office says.
“Having an accessible home is crucial for people to be able to live in dignity, free from discrimination, independently, and as part of their communities.”
People with disabilities and seniors have long raised these concerns, the statement says. Some have turned to medical assistance in dying (MAID) because of a lack of housing, the statement notes.
Potential for ‘a big failure’
Advocates doubt the federal government is taking their concerns seriously.
In August, Ottawa released its “initial vision” for Build Canada Homes, a new federal entity that will be tasked with building affordable homes. The six-page vision document says Build Canada Homes’ goals are to build affordable housing at scale, and to “build faster, better and smarter.”
The vision document mentions many people — particularly seniors on fixed incomes and students — who struggle to find affordable housing. It does not mention the need for accessible housing for people with disabilities.
“Accessibility is not explicitly on the agenda for Build Canada Homes right now, and we’re concerned about that,” said Brad Evoy, co-chair of the Accessible Housing Network, a coalition of organizations in Ontario advocating for more accessible homes.
“It’s just such an opportunity and such a big failure if we don’t embed accessibility,” said Mary-Kathleen Dunn, national manager of public affairs for March of Dimes Canada, a charity that helps people with disabilities make their homes accessible.
Organizations have until Aug. 29 to make submissions about the mandate of Build Canada Homes.
“Our government is committed to developing housing options that address the diverse spectrum of housing needs across Canada, recognizing the importance of accessibility in Canada’s housing system,” a spokesperson for Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Gregor Robertson said in a statement to Canadian Affairs.
The statement says the government is engaging with stakeholders “to refine the approach” of Build Canada Homes. It notes “considerations and feedback related to accessibility are essential.”
The minister’s office did not answer questions about why accessibility was not mentioned in the initial vision document. Instead, it mentioned different funding programs for building affordable housing, including accessible units.
‘Forever gone’
Advocates say much needs to happen to boost accessible housing, but they point to two key changes in particular.
Evoy, at the Accessible Housing Network, says building codes should be modified to mandate more accessibility features, such as wheelchair accessible doorways, for example.
Currently, many standards exist about what accessible buildings should include. But they are voluntary, says Dunn at March of Dimes of Canada.
And advocates want more new accessible homes built — rather than requiring homes to be retrofitted later.
More than 40 real estate development companies have joined the Accelerating Accessibility Coalition, a national coalition that encourages real estate developers to prioritize accessible building.
But this too is voluntary, and not everyone recognizes the value of accessible housing. In Windsor, ALSO had to remove the accessibility features from the apartment it is returning to the property management company.
That accessible unit is “forever gone,” she said.
As Ottawa moves to launch Build Canada Homes, Dunn says it is unclear who in the federal government will provide leadership on disability issues.
Prime Minister Mark Carney eliminated the minister for people with disabilities that had existed under the Trudeau government. Now, disability policy falls under the purview of Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu.
Back in Windsor, Dan Morillo wishes more people would think about the types of homes people with disabilities need.
He knows how natural it is to not think about disability. He did not think of it much until he was 28, when he was diagnosed with a rare, progressive neurological disease — spinocerebellar ataxia — that affects his muscles and motor skills. In the years since, he has gone from walking to using a walker to a power wheelchair.
“People don’t know what it’s like to live with a disability,” he said. “They’re probably not thinking about what type of house [people with disabilities] need to live in.”
