2012-2013 ODA Accessibility Plan

 

Icône PDF — Petit 2012-2013 ODA Accessibility Plan

 

Table of Contents

  • Introduction
  • Section One: Report on Measures to Identify, Remove and Prevent Barriers in 2011-12
  • Reporting on 2011-2012 AODA obligations
  • Customer Service
  • Information and Communications
  • Employment
  • Built Environment
  • Procurement
  • Section Two: Measures Planned for 2012-13 and Beyond
  • Customer Service
  • Information and Communications
  • Employment
  • Built Environment
  • ProcurementSection Three: Review of Acts, Regulations and Policies
  • Glossary of Terms/Acronyms
  • For More Information

Introduction

Each year, the Ontario Public Service (OPS) sets a course to prevent, identify and remove barriers for persons with disabilities. Every ministry participates through the preparation of its annual accessibility plans, as required under the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001 (ODA).

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) is Ontario’s roadmap to become accessible by 2025. It includes accessibility standards in:

  • customer service
  • information and communications
  • employment
  • transportation
  • built environment.

This year, the accessibility plans must also address the Integrated Accessibility Regulation (IASR) under the AODA enacted June 2011. The IASR required the OPS to develop a multi-year accessibility plan (MYAP) to prevent and remove barriers for persons with disabilities. It published the OPS MYAP on January 1, 2012. This included a statement of commitment for the OPS to demonstrate leadership for accessibility on January 1, 2012:

The OPS endeavours to demonstrate leadership for accessibility in Ontario. Our goal is to ensure accessibility for our employees and the public we serve in our services, products and facilities.

Building on the OPS Statement of Commitment, the OPS Multi-Year Accessibility Plan, and the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner (theCommisson)’s 2011-2012 former Accessibility plan, the new 2012-13 accessibility plan will continue moving the Commission and the OPS to the goal of demonstrating leadership in becoming an accessible province for all Ontarians.

This plan outlines the specific steps the government is taking to improve opportunities for persons with disabilities.

To view every ministry’s Accessibility Plans, visit Ontario.ca.

Section One: Report on Measures to Identify, Remove and Prevent Barriers in 2011-12

The Government of Ontario is working to achieve the most accessible province by 2025

Since 2001, the OPS has been complying with the obligations of the ODA and prepared an annual accessibility plan, which it has made available to the public through the Government of Ontario’s public website.

In 2011-12, the Commission is encouraged and continued to comply with the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service regulation. It also began applying initiatives to meet compliance with some of the requirements of the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation in the areas of employment, information and communications, transportation and procurement. The Commission continues to implement initiatives to enhance accessibility in other areas such as the built environment.

Reporting on 2011-2012 AODA obligations

Customer Service

In 2011-12 the Commission trained all new hired staff on the provision of goods or services on a number of topics as outlined in the customer service standard, including:

  • All new hired, interns and unclassified, staff must communicate and interact with any person with a disability in a manner that takes into account his or her disability (i.e., TTY line, etc) at all times.
  • New staff are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the AODA.
  • All staff took How May I help You as part of their Performance Development Plan.
  • Staff were reminded that policies, practices and procedures must be compliant with the Act.
  • Staff were made aware of how to respond to persons with disabilities who use assistive devices, such as usage of own personal assistive devices, wheelchairs, scooters, voice activated computers, guide dogs, etc.
  • When needed, Notices of Service Disruptions were communicated in a timely manner by way of electronic mail and in person, consistent with regulatory requirements. In 2011-2012, there were no service disruptions at the Commission.

The Commission has developed a complaint/feedback form for the general public. The Commission encouraged the general public and ministry staff to comment as a form of quality control mechanism. The public and ministry staff can file complaints in person at the office, by telephone, internet, standard mail, and/or e-mail. Since the creation of the Commission, the Commission has not received complaints or feedback from either the general public or the ministry staff.

Information and Communications

  • The Commission s Communications Officer incorporated accessibility considerations into the preparation of communications materials and ensured that communications products were accessible to everyone.
  • The Communications Officer also ensured that printed materials and promaterials posted on the Commission website were accessible to all and in compliance with the AODA.
  • New and updated information regarding the AODA received by the Commission were distributed to all staff as soon as the material was received.

Employment

  • The Office of the French Language Services Commissioner as a Crown agency, worked closely with MGS Recruitment Centre to eliminate all potential barriers in its employment policies, processes and practices.
  • As part of the hiring process, the Commission informed the candidate(s) that accommodation was available on request during the entire recruitment process.

Built Environment

  • Since the Ontario French Language Services Commissioner took office in November 2007, a buzz button has been installed to assist members of the public with reduced mobility.
  • The entire office space was designed to be wheelchair accessible. Each individual office space was also designed to be wheelchair accessible.

Procurement

  • The Commission is reminded to include the accessibility clause when procuring goods and services.

Section Two: Measures Planned for 2012-13 and Beyond

 

Our Statement of Commitment:

The OPS endeavours to demonstrate leadership for accessibility in Ontario. Our goal is to ensure accessibility for our employees and the public we serve in our services, products and facilities.

The Commission is encouraged to focus on 5 areas of the accessibility plan. In order to demonstrate leadership in accessibility, the Commission is planning to undertake the activities described below. At a minimum, these initiatives will support compliance with the existing Accessibility Standards for Customer Service and Integrated Accessibility Standards under the AODA and other areas.

  • Employment
  • Information & Communications
  • Built Environment and
  • Procurement.
  • Accessibility Training

Customer Service

The Commission is committed to ensuring that people with disabilities receive accessible goods and services from the Commission. This means they will receive goods and services with the same high quality and timeliness as others.

  • The Commission will continue to review and follow policies, practices, procedures in accordance with the guidelines coming from the Diversity Office and from the Ministry of Government Services to ensure compliance with any new requirements.
  • The Commission will continue to ensure that all staff communicate and interact with any person with a disability in a manner that takes into account his or her disability (i.e., TTY line, etc) at all times.
  • The Commission will continue to ensure that all new staff takes the necessary training, such as How May I Help You, to familiarize themselves with the AODA
  • We continue to ensure that any new office policies, practices and procedures are consistent with the core principles of independence, dignity, integration, equality and opportunity as set by the Diversity Office and by MGS directives.

 

Information and Communications

The Commission is encouraged to commit to making government information and communications accessible to people with disabilities. The information we provide and how we communicate it are key to delivering our programs and services to the public.

  • Our Commission will continue to monitor and require staff to incorporate accessibility considerations into the preparation of communications materials to ensure that communications products are accessible to everyone.
  • Our Commission is committed to preventing any possible barriers to persons with disabilities when conveying information (in any method) to the public.
  • Our Commission will continue to ensure that all staff are kept informed of new directives/best practices, as they are received.
  • Our Commission will continue to dispatch amended information coming from the Diversity Office to staff without delay.
  • Our Commission will continue to keep staff up-to-date on possible barriers and edit and/or modify communications products to ensure there are no barriers to anyone, particularly persons with disabilities.
  • Our Commission will encourage staff members to familiarize themselves with the Diversity Offices Inclusion Lens.

Our Commission will continue to monitor and respond to complaints and feedback from the general public or OPS staff. We will continue to have complaint forms so that the public can file complaints within the Commission at the reception area, via telephone, internet, standard mail, and/or e-mail. Our Commission will continue to offer all options to the general public, persons with disabilities, and OPS staff so they can choose a suitable method to contact our Commission.

Employment

The Commission is committed to fair and accessible employment practices that attract and retain talented employees with disabilities. People with disabilities who are OPS employees know they can participate fully and meaningfully in services and employment.

  • The Office of the French Language Services Commissioner (the Commission) is committed to fair and accessible employment practices that attract and retain talented employees with disabilities.
  • The Commission as a Crown Agency worked closely with MGS Recruitment Centre to eliminate all potential of barriers in employment policies, processes and practices.
  • The Commission will continue to cooperate and seek guidance from MGS Recruitment Centre to eliminate all potential barriers in employment policies, processes and practices.
  • As part of the hiring process, the Commission will continue to inform its candidate(s) that accommodation is available on request; and will provide accommodations to all applicants during the entire hiring process. All new staff is encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Act. Training, such as How May I help You will continue to be mandatory for new staff.

Built Environment

The Office of the French Language Services Commissioner is committed to greater accessibility in, out of and around the buildings we use. All individual offices at the Commission are designed to be compliant with the AODA.

  • The Commission is considering seeking funding from the Diversity Office to install automatic doors to assist people with disabilities. Currently, the entrance door has a buzz button to allow staff to assist the general public with reduced mobility.
  • The Commission will continue to encourage staff and management to excel in the area of customer service.
  • The entire office space was designed to be wheelchair accessible. • Each individual Office space was designed to be wheelchair accessible.
  • The Commission is situated on the 24th floor, on the South West corner of Bay & Gerrard Street West; therefore it has a full spectrum of natural light throughout the office.
  • The Commission has a complaint mechanism in place which was created and enforced since 2010. So far, the Commission has not received any complaints from the general public or from stakeholders.

Procurement

The Office of the French Language Services Commissioner is committed to integrating accessibility considerations into our procurement processes. We ask potential suppliers to tell us about the accessible options they offer. We include accessibility in our evaluation criteria.

  • The Commission will continue to seek guidance from MGS for the inclusion of AODA in its procurement practices.
  • The Commission will continue to ensure Accessibility requirements are embedded into the Office s RFPs and all new contracts.

Section Three: Review of Acts, Regulations and Policies

In support of our commitment to improve accessibility for people with disabilities, the Commission will continue to review government initiatives, including legislation and policies, to identify and remove barriers.

Identifying, Removing and Preventing Barriers with the OPS Inclusion Lens

In 2011, the Ontario Public Service (OPS) launched the OPS Inclusion Lens. The OPS Inclusion Lens is an analytical tool that helps staff incorporate elements of inclusion into their work through an enhanced understanding of diversity and accessibility. The Inclusion Lens can be used when initiating a project or reviewing policies, programs, legislation, guidelines and procedures. The OPS Inclusion Lens can assist in identifying, removing and preventing barriers to accessibility and other dimensions of diversity.

Glossary of Terms/Acronyms

AODA – Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 200

IASR – Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation

MYAP – Multi-Year Accessibility Plan

OFLSC – Office of the French Language Services Commissioner

OPS – Ontario Public Service

ODA – Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001

WCAG – Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

For More Information

Questions or comments about the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner accessibility plan are always welcome.

Please phone: 416-314-7930

General inquiry number: 416-314-8013

General inquiry TTY number: 416-314-0760

1-800 number: 1-866-246-5262

E-mail: flsc-csf@ontario.ca

Ministry website address: www.flsc.gov.on.ca

Visit the Ministry of Community and Social Services Accessibility Ontario web portal. The site promotes accessibility and provides information and resources on how to make Ontario an accessible province for everyone.

Alternate formats of this document are available free upon request from:

ServiceOntario Publications
Phone: 1-800-668-9938
TTY: 1-800-268-7095

2012 Queen’s Printer for Ontario

ISSN 1923-9807 (print)
ISSN 1923-9815 (online)

Ce document est disponible en français.