Open to all: access for the disabled makes good business sense.

• Author: Ross, Ian
• Position: SPECIAL REPORT: SAULT STE. MARIE

There's a raft of new legislation to better serve 1.5 million disabled Ontarians and Dorothy Macnaughton says businesses and public organizations should take heed.

The former teacher and local disability advocate wants to educate organizations, particularly those in the service industry, on understanding the needs and challenges of the disabled.

Macnaughton knows their everyday challenges intimately She has endured steadily deteriorating eyesight since birth. With no vision in her right eye and only straight-ahead vision in her left, she walks with a white cane.

But that hasn't stopped her from living a vital, active and productive life.

"Most people who function with any kind of disability have the attitude, I won't let this get me down."

Communities in Northern Ontario should take notice. With the population and workforce aging, companies and service organizations will begin dealing with more seniors, the sightless, the deaf, the developmentally-challenged and those in wheelchairs on an everyday basis over the next 20 years.

Macnaughton's home-based business, Accessibility and Diversity Training, sprang from her volunteer efforts with the March of Dimes, Canadian National Institute for the Blind and on the city's accessibility advisory committee.

Well-versed in Ontario's major pieces of disability legislation, her presentation to the city's transit division was so well-received, she was encouraged to start her own business.

Macnaughton was a part of a decade-long lobbying effort with Toronto lawyer David Lepofsky that brought into effect the Ontarians with Disabilities Act in 2001, and the more beefed-up Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) in 2005.

Starting in January, public sector organizations who provide goods and services will have to meet accessibility standards in customer services transportation, information and communication, built environments and employment.

The private sector must follow suit in 2012.

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Newly sworn-in Lieutenant-Governor David Onley, who uses a wheelchair due to childhood polio, vows to make the accessibility issue the 'over-arching theme' of his mandate.

Macnaughton's specialty is training staff on Ontario's disability legislation, sensitivity training and planning for...