Upcoming 10th Anniversary of Major Event in the Long Campaign for Strong Disability Accessibility Legislation

October 29, 2008 is the 10th anniversary of an extremely important event in the decade-long battle for the enactment of a strong Disabilities Act, to achieve a barrier-free Ontario for persons with disabilities.

There is so much about October 29, 1998 that remains important to Ontarians with disabilities. First, this stunning achievement was the result of hard work by Ontarians with disabilities and their friends, families and other supporters, from right across Ontario at the grass-roots. They tenaciously visited, phoned, faxed and wrote to their members of the Ontario Legislature to urge them to support this important resolution. Their hard work paid off. They waged this battle with determination, in the face of the brick wall they kept slamming into, whenever they tried to discuss a Disabilities Act with the ruling Mike Harris Conservative Government. In the 1995 provincial election, Mike Harris had promised that he would pass the Ontarians with Disabilities Act (ODA) in his first term. Yet for the next years, his Government showed no real interest in taking this promise seriously.

The MPP who championed this resolution ten years ago was Opposition Liberal member Dwight Duncan. How can you help mark this important anniversary on the road to a barrier-free Ontario? We encourage you to circulate this update widely. Encourage others to come up with creative ways to mark this anniversary in your community. Let your local media know what progress has been made in the past ten years, and what progress still must be made, to make Ontario fully barrier-free to over 1.5 million Ontarians with disabilities.

What have you done to encourage the implementation of the AODA? 

If you are interested in learning more about Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) or how to make accessibility a natural part of your business through the application of Corporate Social Responsibility, please contact Sandra Broekhof @ 416-579-1035 orsandra_broekhof@sympatico.ca

What does the AODA say about alternate format (e.g. DAISY) production of required reading materials for post-secondary students in Ontario?

The proposed Information and Communication Standard is not as prescriptive. Let us not forget that the OHRC has primacy over such legislation and students have a right to be accommodated and in a timely manner. Which is why around 1992, the offices for students with disabilities were set up in post secondary institutions. Having said this, what I can share as the AODA coordinator at George Brown College and member of the Post Secondary Advisory Committee on Disability Issues(PACDI) - (MTCU) is that there is a very exciting pilot project that is supported by the Ministry of Ed - where some (not all) colleges and some of the major publishers are involved, whereby a repository is being currently set up so that all e-texts can be readily accessed by higher educational institutions to ensure students have access to accessible texts and in a timely manner. Of course the project is much more involved and there is a lot of work being done - the goal is that eventually all accessible reading material will be available in one central location and thereby making it easy for access to students with disabilities. It was presented in our last PACDI meeting that pending all goes well, this project may be ready to be rolled out to other institutions in a couple of years. If you would like further information, I would be happy to send you more on this very exciting project

Is your organization following these guidelines??

If you are interested in learning more about Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) or how to make accessibility a natural part of your business through the application of Corporate Social Responsibility, please contact Sandra Broekhof @ 416-579-1035 orsandra_broekhof@sympatico.ca

Promised Health Care Accessibility Standard, and About the Government's Earlier

We are preparing a brief for the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario on the barriers that people with disabilities face in the health care system. This is part of the Government's "pre-consultation" on the Health Care Accessibility Standard that the Wynne Government promised 18 months ago to create under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).

A photo of this barrier was tweeted to all members of the Ontario Legislature who are on Twitter, as an "#AODAfail. This was part of our ongoing "Picture Our Barriers" campaign.

In recent revisions to the Customer Service Accessibility Standard, the Wynne Government refused our request to require accessible signage for such public washrooms. The Wynne Government says it is leading by example on accessibility. This is not a good example by which to lead. To learn more about the Government's refusal to include our proposals in recent revisions to the Customer Service Accessibility Standard.

Will an accessible help standard help you or your family?

If you are interested in learning more about Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) or how to make accessibility a natural part of your business through the application of Corporate Social Responsibility, please contact Sandra Broekhof @ 416-579-1035 orsandra_broekhof@sympatico.ca

AODA Alliance's News Release Responding to the Wynne Government's Announcement on School Supports for Students with Disabilities

Even though Ontario is required by law to become fully accessible to all people with disabilities by 2025, less than eight and a half years from now, Ontario's publicly-funded education system is still full of barriers that can impede 334,000 students with special education needs. The Wynne Government still has no plan in place to ensure that Ontario's education system becomes fully disability-accessible.

What is the Government doing about this? On August 8, 2016, the Wynne Government announced that it would not close any of Ontario's provincial or demonstration schools for students with learning disabilities, students who are blind, low vision or deaf-blind, or students who are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing. This came after the Government held a consultation on the future of the schools for children with learning disabilities or who are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing. The Government had made it clear from the outset that it was not going to consider closing the W. Ross Macdonald School for children with vision loss.

As the AODA Alliances news release shows, the Government's August 8, 2016 announcement helps illustrate the need for much more comprehensive reforms to Ontario's education system, which is full of barriers impeding hundreds of thousands of students with special education needs. the Government's announcement commendably commits to a new Government initiative to explore better supports for students in local schools who have learning disabilities, or who are deaf, deafened, or hard of hearing.

Learn all about our campaign for a fully accessible Ontario by visiting http://www.aodaalliance.org

Will an accessible education standard help you or your family?

If you are interested in learning more about Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) or how to make accessibility a natural part of your business through the application of Corporate Social Responsibility, please contact Sandra Broekhof @ 416-579-1035 orsandra_broekhof@sympatico.ca

Accessibility is everyone’s responsibility.

Accessibility is not a checklist item that only needs to be considered in some projects, or at the end of a process. Rather, these practices should be woven into every step of a project and role in a team. An accessible product stems from everyone on a team owning and shouldering the responsibility. It's part of our jobs as creators.

We know it's one thing to agree to a set of principles, and another thing altogether to change a process. With these guiding principles in mind, we then turned our attention to figuring out how to actually ensure accessibility in our work.

The most important thing about accessibility is – it is necessary for some but a benefit for all.  They could help many people.

What do you do to help make accessibility a natural way of living?

If you are interested in learning more about Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) or how to make accessibility a natural part of your business through the application of Corporate Social Responsibility, please contact Sandra Broekhof @ 416-579-1035 orsandra_broekhof@sympatico.ca

Office 365 makes digital environments more accessible for persons with disabilities

Office 365 is even more accessible now for persons with disabilities, with several key improvements released.

Narrator, the built-in screen reader, has new voices that can speak as many as 800 words a minute with six levels of verbosity, so you can get varying indications of text properties and control over how much punctuation you hear, and verbal hints when automatic suggestions are available; and Document Libraries and SharePoint Online include headings for easy navigation.

There are also high-contrast themes available on PCs to assist visibility, an advanced proofing and editing service to help people with dyslexic, as well as expanded tools to help authors check how accessible their content is, among other enhancements.

For more information, visit https://blogs.office.com

The most important thing about accessibility is – it is necessary for some but a benefit for all.  They could help many people.

Will you be able to use some of these in your organization?

If you are interested in learning more about Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) or how to make accessibility a natural part of your business through the application of Corporate Social Responsibility, please contact Sandra Broekhof @ 416-579-1035 orsandra_broekhof@sympatico.ca

GFD launches guidelines on inclusion and participation of persons with disabilities

The Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations (GFD), has launched guidelines on inclusion and participation of persons with disabilities in election 2016 in Accra. The aim is to promote full inclusion and effective participation of persons with disabilities in the society as well as empower organisations with such persons.

Mr Joshua Makubu, Elections Project Coordinator, GFD speaking at the launch, said many decision making processes have paid lip service to the issue of disability and as such most policies developed particularly in Ghana have not made adequate provisions for Persons with Disabilities.  He said the guidelines therefore seeks to ensure that disability issues are adequately included in political party manifestoes as well as in programmes of the Electoral Commission (EC), the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) , the Information Service Department and other stakeholders.

The guidelines entails a number of challenges confronting persons with disabilities such as access to polling stations, access to information, employment opportunities, mental health issues, inclusive education and how these can be implemented effectively to make it disability friendly. Mr Makubu said this was very necessary for the country as a democratic state to allow all stakeholders enjoy their piece of the national cake and feel part of the society.

He thus appealed to government to upgrade all special needs schools in the country to enable it meet international standards.He as well urged that government appointments should also include persons with disability for the development of the economy and the nation at large.

‘If government wants to improve women participation in politics they can as well increase the number of persons with disabilities in parliament for better legislation.’ Mr Samuel Asare Akuamoah, the Deputy Chairman of Operations, NCCE said the guidelines when implemented would help nip the gaps in the governance and operation systems and enhance the work of the NCCE for effective communication and participation.  He, therefore, appealed to stakeholder institutions to get copies of the guidelines to enhance their activities and their way of communication with persons with disabilities.

Mrs Abigail Amponsah Nutakor, the Head of Gender and Disability EC, said persons with disability could do a lot during this electioneering year and thus, urged those interested as polling officials to make their intentions known to the EC to be able to take part in the process.

The guidelines are in brails, large fonts and normal fonts for easy accessibility by persons with disabilities.

Source: GNA

Do you think you could use some of these guidelines in your organization?  Do they comply with the AODA?

If you are interested in learning more about Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) or how to make accessibility a natural part of your business through the application of Corporate Social Responsibility, please contact Sandra Broekhof @ 416-579-1035 orsandra_broekhof@sympatico.ca

Getting to compliance

Ontario’s Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (the act) came into force in 2005 and sets out a clear goal and timeframe to make Ontario accessible by 2025.  The next few blogs will talk about how the province and your own organization can do to work towards compliance. 

Ontario’s Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (the act) came into force in 2005 and sets out a clear goal and timeframe to make Ontario accessible by 2025.  The next few blogs will talk about how the province and your own organization can do to work towards compliance. 

• Audit up to 2,000 organizations.
• Organizations will be selected for audits to ensure that they are in compliance with the act.
• Continue to follow up when necessary with NOPOs, Director’s Orders, fines and prosecution.

Result: Maintain confidence in the assurance framework.

Compliance with the AODA and the various applicable standards is mandatory and failure to comply may lead to fines. Moreover, compliance with the obligations under AODA can be relevant to other matters arising in the human rights sphere and Corporate Social Responsibility.

Has your organization been complying with all parts of the AODA?

If you are interested in learning more about Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) or how to make accessibility a natural part of your business through the application of Corporate Social Responsibility, please contact Sandra Broekhof @ 416-579-1035 orsandra_broekhof@sympatico.ca

Getting to compliance

Ontario’s Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (the act) came into force in 2005 and sets out a clear goal and timeframe to make Ontario accessible by 2025.  The next few blogs will talk about how the province and your own organization can do to work towards compliance. 

• The government will be following up when organizations do not file reports or comply with the act, which includes:
• Conducting inspections.
• Issuing Notices of Proposed Order (NOPOs) advising why the organization is not in compliance with the law, and what it must do to comply and to avoid a penalty.
• Issuing Director’s Orders stating the organization must comply, including possible financial penalties.
• Court enforcement.
• Prosecution, which could include fines.

Thoughtful incorporation of AODA standards and effective AODA training can be linked to employee engagement. Corporate social responsibility (CSR), including sustainable business practices, is increasingly tied to employee expressions of engagement and alignment with the organization. Studies show that companies with high CSR values also score higher in employee engagement.

The best way to make the link between CSR and the AODA is a thoughtful and specific application of AODA standards and training to your industry.

Taking the time to identify and develop practices unique to your company, clients and processes is a way to show your employees that accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities is part of your organization's sustainable business practice. The more specific you can make your training, and the more directly you can link it to your vision and values as a company, the more value the training will have.

Has your organization been complying with all parts of the AODA?

If you are interested in learning more about Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) or how to make accessibility a natural part of your business through the application of Corporate Social Responsibility, please contact Sandra Broekhof @ 416-579-1035 orsandra_broekhof@sympatico.ca