The City of Cornwall retained Roth IAMS to complete comprehensive Accessibility Audits (AAs) for four designated Housing Services Buildings located at 15 Edwards Street, 24 Augustus Street, 120 Augustus Street, and 540 Adolphus Street. The audits were undertaken to support a funding request to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and to ensure alignment with applicable accessibility requirements and standards.

The engagement focused on identifying existing accessibility barriers and documenting compliance gaps using an integrated, regulation-aligned assessment approach.

Roth IAMS completed Accessibility Audits in accordance with CMHC Accessibility Requirements (Option 1) and the Minimum Environmental & Accessibility Requirements guidelines published by CMHC. While CMHC references the National Housing Strategy (NHS), Better Practices (BP), and CSA B651 – Accessible Design for the Built Environment, Roth IAMS recognized that in Ontario, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) takes precedence.

To address this, Roth IAMS utilized an integrated Accessibility Audit checklist engineered to align with and reference:

• CMHC Accessibility Requirements (Option 1)
• Ontario Building Code (OBC) Section 3.8 – Barrier-Free Design
• Public Spaces Standard (PSS)
• Ontario Regulation 191/11 – Integrated Accessibility Standards

The checklist was designed to clearly identify and flag barriers (non-compliances) against both CMHC and provincial AODA requirements, with AODA taking precedence where standards differed.

Challenge: Delivering comprehensive Accessibility Audits within a compressed timeline, while navigating overlapping federal and provincial accessibility requirements.

Solution: Roth IAMS deployed additional resources and dedicated extended effort to meet the schedule. The use of a purpose-built, integrated AA checklist ensured consistent evaluation, regulatory clarity, and efficient reporting across all four facilities.

Client Impact and Success: The Accessibility Audits provided the City of Cornwall with a clear, defensible record of accessibility barriers across its Housing Services Buildings.

The work enabled the City to:

• Support CMHC funding applications with documented, regulation-aligned findings
• Clearly distinguish between CMHC and AODA compliance requirements
• Prioritize accessibility improvements based on documented barriers
• Strengthen transparency and defensibility in accessibility planning

The City of Cornwall engagement demonstrates Roth IAMS’ ability to deliver clear, regulation-aligned Accessibility Audits that support funding, compliance, and inclusive design objectives. By integrating CMHC and AODA requirements into a single assessment framework, Roth IAMS helped the City advance accessibility improvements with confidence and clarity.