Ontario Taking Action to Improve Elevator Availability

Province Aims To Become World Leader With Standards For Repair Timelines

Ontario is elevating its efforts to reduce outages and improving access to elevators, while maintaining the province’s strong safety record.

Tracy MacCharles, Minister of Government and Consumer Services, was joined by MPP Han Dong in Toronto today to announce that the government has developed an action plan that would make Ontario the first jurisdiction in the world to establish standards for elevator repair timelines.

In addition to establishing a standard for elevator repair timelines, Ontario will also:

Enable collection of necessary data to inform the development of the standard.
Enhance enforcement of maintenance requirements, including through new administrative monetary penalties.
Amend Ontario’s Fire Code to notify fire departments when designated firefighter elevators are out of service to improve planning and response during emergencies.
Publish information about elevator performance to help people in the province make better informed decisions before they rent or buy a home in a multi-storey building.
Help elevator owners negotiate better maintenance contracts ‎through an education and outreach campaign.
Create new standards for new-build high-rise buildings to ensure they have enough elevators to serve residents‎.
The government commissioned an independent study to examine the issue of elevator availability and propose solutions, which was conducted by the Honourable J. Douglas Cunningham. The action plan addresses all of the 19 recommendations proposed in the final report.

Protecting homebuyers and renters and strengthening public safety is part of Ontario’s plan to create fairness and opportunity during this period of rapid economic change. The plan includes a higher minimum wage and better working conditions, free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students, easier access to affordable child care, and free prescription drugs for everyone under 25 through the biggest expansion of medicare in a generation.