A. INTRODUCTION
Since January 1, 2010,
government offices, ministries, and municipalities have
been required to comply with the accessibility standards
for customer service prescribed in Ontario Regulation 429/07
(“the Regulation”) entitled Accessibility Standards for
Customer Service under the Accessibility for Ontarians
with Disabilities Act, 2005 (“the Act”). Beginning January
1, 2012, those standards will apply to all providers of
goods and services within the province of Ontario, including
charities and not-for-profit organizations. The regulation
requires that providers of goods and services establish
policies, practices, and procedures governing the provision
of its goods or services to persons with disabilities and
mandates that reasonable efforts be taken to ensure that
the provider’s policies are consistent with certain prescribed
principles in this regard.
B. PURPOSES AND PRINCIPLES
In recognition of the history of discrimination
against persons with disabilities in Ontario, section 1
of the Act states that the Act’s purpose is to benefit all
Ontarians by developing, implementing and enforcing accessibility
standards in order to achieve accessibility for Ontarians
with disabilities with respect to goods, services, facilities,
accommodation, employment, buildings, structures and premises
on or before January 1, 2025, and by providing for the involvement
of persons with disabilities in the development of the accessibility
standards. In order to accomplish these goals, the Act permits
the Lieutenant Governor in Council to make regulations establishing
accessibility standards which will apply to certain organizations
or persons. Ontario Regulation 429/07, Accessibility Standards for Customer Service is the applicable regulation (“Regulation”).
C. KEY PROVISIONS OF THE REGULATION
1.
Establishment of policies,
practices and procedures
Under the Regulation, providers
of goods and services are required to establish policies,
practices, and procedures governing the provision of goods
or services to persons with disabilities. Providers of goods
and services are to take reasonable efforts to ensure that
their policies are consistent with the following principles:
·
The goods or services must be provided in
a manner that respects the dignity and independence of persons
with disabilities.
·
The provision of goods or services to persons
with disabilities and others must be integrated unless an
alternate measure is necessary, whether temporarily or on
a permanent basis, to enable a person with a disability
to obtain, use or benefit from the goods or services.
·
Persons with disabilities must be given an
opportunity equal to that given to others to obtain, use
and benefit from the goods or services.
Goods and service providers are to specifically
address the use of assistive devices by persons with disabilities
to obtain, use or benefit from the provider’s goods or services,
and must also ensure appropriate communication with persons
with disabilities, taking that person’s disability into
account.
Organizations which employ 20 or more
people are subject to additional documentation requirements
under most sections of the regulation. Such requirements
provide for the mandatory preparation of written documentation
regarding the organization’s policies, practices, and procedures,
and the need to make them available upon request. The documentation
requirements can be quite extensive, and therefore all organizations
which employ 20 or more people should be familiar with what
is required by the Regulation. The Ontario government has
published a number of helpful guidance documents at http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/programs/accessibility/ComplyingStandards
/toolsToHelpYouComply.aspx.
2.
Use of service animals and
support persons
Providers of goods and services will
be required to allow people with disabilities to be accompanied
by their guide dog or service animal in areas of their premises
that are open to the public, unless the animal is otherwise
excluded by law. If a service animal is excluded by law,
other measures are to be made available to provide the person
with a disability access to services.
The Regulation also requires accommodation
for people with disabilities who use a support person, which
will allow them to bring the support person with them while
accessing goods or services. Where admission fees are charged,
notice is to be provided ahead of time on what admission
fee, if any, would be charged for a support person of a
person with a disability
3.
Notice of temporary disruptions
If, in order to obtain, use or benefit
from a provider’s goods or services, persons with disabilities
usually use particular facilities or services of the provider
and if there is a temporary disruption in those facilities
or services, the Regulation states that the provider shall
give notice of the disruption to the public. The notice
should be posted in a conspicuous place, such as the window
of the premises or on a service provider’s website, and
should explain the reason for, and expected duration of
the disruption, and should describe any alternative facilities
that may be available.
4.
Training for staff
Every person who is
employed by an organization in the delivery of its goods
or services or who assists the organization in developing
its policies, practices and procedures governing the provision
of goods or services will be required to receive ongoing
training regarding the provision of goods and services to
persons with disabilities. The training must specifically
address:
·
How to interact and communicate with persons
with various types of disability.
·
How to interact with persons with disabilities
who use an assistive device or require the assistance of
a guide dog or other service animal or the assistance of
a support person.
·
How to use equipment or devices available
on the provider’s premises or otherwise provided by the
provider that may help with the provision of goods or services
to a person with a disability.
·
What to do if a person with a particular type
of disability is having difficulty accessing the provider’s
goods or services.
5.
Feedback process
The Regulation requires goods and service
providers to establish a process for receiving and responding
to feedback regarding the manner in which it provides goods
or services to persons with disabilities. Information about
the process must be made readily available to the public and must specify the actions that the organization is required
to take if a complaint is received. The feedback process
must permit feedback to be given in person, by telephone,
in writing, or by electronic means.
D. ANNUAL REPORTING REQUIREMENT
Section 14 (1) of the
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005
requires a person or organization to whom an
accessibility standard applies to file an accessibility
report with the director annually or at such other times
as the director may specify. By operation
of Ontario Regulation 430/07, this requirement will initially
apply only to organizations which have 20 or more employees.
Accessibility reports can currently be filed online through
the Service Ontario website. More information is available
online at http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/programs/accessibility/ComplyingStandards/
toolsToHelpYouComply.aspx.
E. CONCLUSION
Although the Regulation
will not apply to non-government goods and service providers
until January 2012, charities and non-profits in Ontario
would be well advised to begin preparations so that they
will be able to comply with the Accessibility Standards
for Customer Service when the Regulation applies to
them next year. The government of Ontario has published
a number of helpful guidance documents on the Ministry of
Community and Social Services website to assist organizations
in this regard. It is highly recommended that organizations
to whom the regulation applies review and become familiar
with these publications. The documents can be accessed directly
using the links provided above, or by visiting the ministry’s
designated website regarding Accessibility for Ontarians
with disabilities at http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/programs/accessibility/.
