Five-year-old Beau starts each day being carried by one of his parents to the familyB次元官网网址檚 living room, where his wheelchair awaits in their Beamsville, Ont., home.

Diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy at 17 months old, Beau is unable to walk independently due to the disease, which damages nerves and leads to severe muscle weakness.

BeauB次元官网网址檚 day-to-day living comes with barriers most would never think about when raising a child, said his mother, Rachel OB次元官网网址橦agan. The doorways in their home arenB次元官网网址檛 wide enough for a wheelchair to fit through, meaning Beau has to be carried from room to room, including the bathroom.

He canB次元官网网址檛 access the sink to wash his hands or brush his teeth on his own, nor reach the light switches. As he gets older, OB次元官网网址橦agan said she and her husband Bryce know these challenges will only compound, especially as he gets too heavy for them to lift.

B次元官网网址淭hese are all things that he absolutely could do on his own if the house could accommodate him,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淗e very much wouldnB次元官网网址檛 need our support B次元官网网址� He could freely move around.B次元官网网址�

Amid a housing crisis that has Canadian policymakers and developers scrambling to bolster supply, those living with disability are urging leaders to enshrine accessibility into more newly built homes than the country has historically seen.

B次元官网网址淚t just really seems like an impossible situation for us, I wonB次元官网网址檛 lie,B次元官网网址� said OB次元官网网址橦agan.

B次元官网网址淲e want our son to be able to access everything he needs.B次元官网网址�

BeauB次元官网网址檚 situation mirrors the early life of Tracy Odell, a 66-year-old woman living in Toronto who was born with the same condition.

Growing up, Odell attended whatB次元官网网址檚 now known as Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, which she described as B次元官网网址渁n institution for kidsB次元官网网址� where they live and receive their schooling.

But when she turned 18 and aged out of the program, her options were scarce.

B次元官网网址淎 nursing home was accessible, but apartments werenB次元官网网址檛. Houses werenB次元官网网址檛 built that way. You had to look specifically for an apartment that didnB次元官网网址檛 have stairs in the building and (had) an elevator,B次元官网网址� said Odell.

B次元官网网址淎s far as the design of the apartment, you had to make do.B次元官网网址�

Decades later, Odell is struck by how little has changed, calling the accessible housing options available in Canada B次元官网网址渄eplorable.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭his is a hugely urgent matter,B次元官网网址� said Jutta Treviranus, director of the Inclusive Design Research Centre at OCAD University.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a housing crisis for everyone, but the housing crisis is so much more intense for anyone requiring accessible housing because the lack of supply is exponentially more scarce.B次元官网网址�

Treviranus said itB次元官网网址檚 unsurprising Canada lacks sufficient housing to meet the disability communityB次元官网网址檚 needs, considering how infrequently their voices are heard at the decision-making table.

B次元官网网址淎n accessible home is an adaptive home. ItB次元官网网址檚 a home that has choices,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淭here isnB次元官网网址檛 a fixed solution or a singular one-size-fits-all approach to providing accessibility.B次元官网网址�

Federal housing advocate Marie-Jos茅e Houle called on Ottawa in her 2022-2023 report to B次元官网网址渂uild accessibility up frontB次元官网网址� into its National Housing Strategy.

That included recommendations such as ensuring all new government-funded housing units meet a minimum criteria of B次元官网网址渧isitabilityB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� defined as having a level entrance, wider doorways and hallways, and a wheelchair accessible washroom on the entry-level floor.

All levels of government have a role to play in spurring more accessible housing, whether through changes to building code requirements or financial incentives tied to grants, said Stephanie Cadieux, the federal governmentB次元官网网址檚 chief accessibility officer.

Asked if Canada has fallen behind peer countries in that regard, Cadieux acknowledged, B次元官网网址淲e arenB次元官网网址檛 yet in the lead.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淲e are not building homes that work for everybody. The way we build homes is very much that homes are designed around able-bodied people,B次元官网网址� she said in an interview.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 important that we start through policy to insist that we are building homes that are adaptable for peopleB次元官网网址檚 changing needs over time. Ultimately if we do, that will ensure that everyone is able to live where they want to live B次元官网网址� because that supply of housing will exist. It currently doesnB次元官网网址檛 exist.B次元官网网址�

Cadieux said there is an enormous opportunity to change the face of accessible housing across Canada at this moment, particularly as the federal government targets 3.87 million new homes by 2031.

B次元官网网址淣owB次元官网网址檚 the time,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 proven over and over again that itB次元官网网址檚 far more costly to fix something after the fact when it comes to accessibility than it is to do it at the beginning.B次元官网网址�

Studies by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. support that claim. A 2019 comparison conducted by the national housing agency showed it would cost between 185 to 779 per cent more B次元官网网址� depending on the housing type B次元官网网址� to make an existing Montreal home accessible compared with a new home.

An earlier CMHC report said the construction of an accessible and adaptable new home carried an added cost of just six to 12 per cent compared with standard construction, depending on the model and the city in which the home would be built.

B次元官网网址淲ith our population aging and demand for adaptable and accessible housing on the rise, it is in the housing industryB次元官网网址檚 best interest to adjust its offering accordingly,B次元官网网址� it said.

The Daniels Corp. is a developer in the Greater Toronto Area that has taken up that call through its Accessibility Designed Program. First unveiled in 2017, the builder set out to create accessibly designed homes for people using mobility devices at no additional cost.

The units, available to rent or own, have features such as roll-in showers and roll-out balconies along with accessible common spaces B次元官网网址� including lowered concierge desks, accessible kitchens in party rooms and waste chutes with automatic door openers.

Thus far, the developer has completed 38 accessible units, with 124 under construction and another 36 in a pre-construction design phase.

B次元官网网址淲hen we work with our trade contractors and say, B次元官网网址楾his light receptacle and switch should be here as opposed to here,B次元官网网址� there is no cost to that. There is very minimal cost from the very beginning of a project if you are looking at building washrooms in the accessible units that have no tub,B次元官网网址� said Heela Omarkhail, DanielsB次元官网网址� vice-president of social impact.

B次元官网网址淚t was really these types of features and often finishes that we looked at (and said), B次元官网网址極K, if we can make some of these enhancements from the very beginning B次元官网网址� rather than trying to bolt it on later, can we be more responsive to the needs of the accessibility community?B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

But Omarkhail acknowledged there is far more work to do on that front. She said there is a gap of accessible units available compared with the needs of Canadians B次元官网网址� estimates suggest more than a quarter of whom are living with some form of disability.

B次元官网网址淚f you look across our market in the GTA or in Canada as a whole, we are not building 15 to 20 per cent of homes with enhanced accessibility features,B次元官网网址� she said.

Kate Chung, co-founder of the Accessible Housing Network, worries that B次元官网网址減eople with disabilities are being totally ignoredB次元官网网址� in the process.

But she said ongoing efforts to boost CanadaB次元官网网址檚 housing supply could serve as a turning point.

In early 2024, the federal government launched its Housing Design Catalogue program, a reboot of an initiative from the post-Second World War era meant to provide standardized housing designs that reduce the time required for design, approvals and construction.

A government report released in the summer said feedback from stakeholders consistently highlighted that greater accessibility must be an essential feature of the design catalogue.

B次元官网网址淭he non-profit sector and accessibility advocates reinforced not only the importance of universal design features for addressing the needs of Canadians today but also the growing need as CanadaB次元官网网址檚 population continues to age,B次元官网网址� the report said.

Chung said this recommendation, if carefully adopted, could steer CanadaB次元官网网址檚 housing crisis in the right direction.

B次元官网网址淗ereB次元官网网址檚 an opportunity. YouB次元官网网址檙e going to be building all this housing and you have control over the design of the housing,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淵ou need to make it all universal design, so anyone of any age or ability can live there and can continue to live there, even if they get hit by a stroke or heart attack, (multiple sclerosis), a truck B次元官网网址� whatever happens to them, whether they end up with a permanent disability or a temporary one.B次元官网网址�

Today, the Toronto bungalow where Odell lives is imperfect, but good enough to get by, she said. It features a lift to get up the front porch and enter the home, along with a ramp out back built by her husband.

She doesnB次元官网网址檛 have access to the basement, nor adjustable counters in the kitchen to help her reach.

Her doorways are just wide enough to pass through, although theyB次元官网网址檙e marked with scrapes due to the space constraints of entering a room with the assistance of a wheelchair.

Still, Odell said sheB次元官网网址檚 lucky to have a home in the community that isnB次元官网网址檛 encumbered by further barriers.

B次元官网网址淚f I was looking for something else right now, I think thatB次元官网网址檇 be very, very difficult,B次元官网网址� she said.

Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press