Advancing income security policy using universal design: the case of the Ontario Disability Support Programme in Ontario, Canada

Although accessibility legislation has been one of the hallmarks of disability policy in many countries of the Global North, work is needed to not only realize the implementation of such legislation, but to advance conceptions of disability policy using a universal design framework. This chapter explores how universal design might be applied to income security programmes that are inclusive of the disabled population. Critical Disability Studies is employed as a means of recognizing the strengths and challenges associated with the medical model and social model of disability in orienting income security policy towards universal inclusion. Using the Ontario Disability Support Programme in Ontario, Canada as a case example, the author discusses the limitations associated with income assistance programming designed exclusively for disabled people and outlines how a transformative shift to a universally accessible basic income would anchor income security provisions to the principles of universal design in policy practice.