MINISTRY OF COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL SERVICES
2008-2009
Accessibility Plan
Introduction
Ontario is making progress toward building an accessible province by 2025. The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) has laid the foundation to meet this goal. Under the act, Ontario is developing standards that will remove the barriers faced by people with disabilities.
On January 1, 2008, the first accessibility standard under the act came into force. Through the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service, people of all abilities will be able to get the service they need. Public sector organizations, including the Ontario government, will need to comply with this standard by 2010. Private sector and non-profit organizations will need to comply by 2012.
Next year, more standards will be released in other important areas, including:
- Information and communications
- Transportation
- Employment
- The built environment.
The Ministry of Community and Social Services’ sixth annual accessibility plan highlights achievements in 2007-2008 to break down barriers for people with disabilities. It also outlines this ministry’s commitments in the coming year to make programs, policies and services more accessible for all Ontarians.
The ministry has continued to focus on playing a leadership role in raising awareness about accessibility for its own staff, for staff working in other parts of the Ontario government and for the broader public.
In May 2007 to celebrate National Access Awareness Week, the ministry hosted a series of accessibility expos in Toronto and in each of the ministry’s nine regions. This year’s theme for the expos was “Accessibility is Everyone’s Business”. The expos used interactive exhibits and informative workshops to demonstrate good customer service practices for people with disabilities. Exhibits at the event at Queen’s Park featured displays from a number of Ontario Public Service (OPS) partners, including the Information and Information Technology Cluster’s Accessibility Centre of Excellence, the OPS Diversity Office, and the Youth and New Professionals Secretariat. The expos also featured a number of hands-on demonstrations from the Ontario Association of the Deaf, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and Bell Relay Services. Staff from across the OPS learned that good customer service benefits everyone and that public servants need to be leaders in making Ontario accessible to people with disabilities
As part of its broader awareness raising mandate, the ministry launched a province-wide public awareness campaign based on AccessON. AccessON is an internet site designed to raise awareness among the public, the business community and the broader public sector, about the barriers that exist for people with disabilities. In 2008, this transit advertisement was featured in communities across Ontario including Toronto, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Durham Region, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Mississauga, Niagara Falls, North Bay, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, Sarnia, Sault Ste Marie, St Catharines, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Waterloo Region, Windsor, York Region.
To complement its awareness raising efforts, the ministry has continued to focus on education for staff about how to provide good service to customers with disabilities. In 2007-08, the ministry provided training to over 1700 staff working in Service Ontario. Staff working within the Ministry of Community and Social Services have also benefited from a range of training opportunities designed to enhance the service experience for customers with disabilities. All ministry staff supporting the Ontario Disability Support Program are required to complete the Access, Awareness and Accountability training. In addition, as of October 2008, 85 per cent of ministry managers and supervisors had completed the on-line Maximizing the Contribution of Employees and Applicants with Disabilities training.
This year, the ministry actively consulted with staff in the development of its Accessibility Plan. Over 50 employees, including employees with disabilities volunteered to provide their insight and experience in the development of the 2008-2009 MCSS Accessibility Plan.
This accessibility plan is unique, because it reflects our transition between the AODA and the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001 (ODA). The ODA applies to the Ontario government and all broader public sector organizations. Under this act, all government ministries develop annual accessibility plans to make policies, programs, services and buildings more accessible to people with disabilities.
Through the ODA, accessibility planning has laid a strong foundation for the Ministry of Community and Social Services to build on. This ministry will continue to help make Ontario more accessible for people with disabilities and a more inclusive society for all Ontarians.
An executive summary of all Government of Ontario Ministry Accessibility Plans is available on the ministry website.