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Supporting accessibility

The �������� Public Service (OPS) has set ambitious goals to identify, remove and prevent barriers within the organization to support the government’s goal of an accessible �������� by 2025.

Building an accessible organization is good for OPS employees and it’s good for the people who use our services.

One in seven people living in �������� has a disability and this number will grow to one in five by 2036 as the population of our province ages. Creating an accessible OPS allows all employees to perform at their full potential and to serve more effectively. This makes life better for all of the 13 million people living in ��������, and our services across the province grow and thrive.

The OPS has been making steady progress to build an inclusive workplace and services. The five-year Multi-Year Accessibility Plan (MYAP) — Accessibility in the �������� Public Service: Leading the Way Forward — has provided a road map to help fulfill the government’s obligations under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and support organization-wide change. It has helped the OPS to be named one of , for the ninth consecutive year. And it has helped �������� to achieve the many accomplishments outlined in this 2015 MYAP Annual Status Report.

This report highlights some of the key initiatives that the OPS actively worked on in 2015 to become a more accessible organization.

This is an ongoing journey, but with the support of all OPS employees, �������� will continue to lead the way forward in making the province accessible by 2025.

Focusing on people

Providing services that are important to the people living in �������� is at the forefront of the work the OPS does every day. Delivering quality goods and services to everyone in a timely manner is the OPS’ goal. As �������� strives toward building an accessible province, the OPS is committed to policies and procedures that ensure people with disabilities receive accessible public services.

In 2015, Service�������� continued using a Digital Assist Framework to help identify alternative ways for people who have accessibility needs, limited access to the internet, or beginner level experience in using a computer to access information online. New accessible products were also developed for Service��������, including a braille overlay that allows health card holders to easily read the health number on their cards.

Online consultation options were introduced to allow more citizens to participate and provide their feedback when and where it’s convenient for them. Online consultations provided a method for people of all abilities to contribute to government decision-making and help improve programs and services for the public. These online options were used to collect feedback and ideas from the public for a variety of initiatives, including:

• Budget Talks – Ontarians submitted ideas to help inform ��������’s budget
• Culture Talks – people provided input to help develop ��������’s first culture strategy, and support arts and culture across the province
• Open Data Directive consultation – the public used a collaborative online tool to help co-create ��������’s first data directive to help share more government data

In spring 2015, teletypewriter service (TTY) was offered as part of the public consultations for the Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy Update.

As well, the �������� Provincial Police now offer individuals who are deaf, deafened, hard of hearing or have a speech disability to communicate with 9-1-1 operators via text message during an emergency.

Accessible communications

How people access or provide information and communicate with the OPS are important measures of successful service delivery. For people with disabilities, accessible communication options and formats are critical to delivering effective goods and services.

A number of OPS training tools and resources were introduced in 2015 to enable the creation of accessible communication products. This included accessibility training for Microsoft 2010 Word, PowerPoint and Excel that offered a step-by-step guide to developing accessible documents.

Accessibility is a core principle for online government communications. Several web features were introduced to make government intranet and internet websites more accessible. For example, online visitors can access interactive data tables with sort and search capabilities, making government data easier to explore and understand. A new book format makes longer documents easier to navigate in an HTML, mobile-friendly format that’s accessible for everyone.

Making information easier to find, use and understand is also a priority. For example, the government releases the Public Accounts to present the government’s financial statements and provide a picture of how finances were managed over the last fiscal year. New and accessible data visualizations transformed hundreds of pages into simple, user-friendly digital tools that make it easier for people to understand how public dollars are being used.

The Baseline Connectivity Mapping for the Settled Landscapes of Southern �������� was also created – an accessible map that is the first of its kind. This map was used as the test case to support the development of new guidelines and best practices for creating accessible maps.

Inclusive employment

�������� is committed to ensuring that people with disabilities within the OPS are able to participate fully and meaningfully in their roles. The OPS has set out accessibility requirements to support recruitment and accommodation of employees, including making employment practices and workplaces more accessible to potential and existing employees with disabilities, and preparing individualized emergency response information for persons with disabilities.

We have been the recipient of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers Award every year since the Award’s inception in 2008. We have received this honour as a result of our adoption of a wide range of policies and initiatives to support an inclusive and accessible organization.

The �������� government’s successful Diversity Mentoring Partnership Program was extended to include management-level staff, with 468 mentorship partnerships formed. This OPS-wide reciprocal mentorship program connects senior leaders with staff members from traditionally under-represented groups in senior-level positions, including people with disabilities.

The OPS introduced a new disability and attendance case management model to monitor relevant data on employment accommodation more consistently and to evaluate and build on ��������’s progress in supporting employees with disabilities.

The public service also delivered the Healthy Minds, Healthy Workplace speaker series and provided supporting resources to staff across the OPS to raise awareness about mental health in the workplace.

Additionally, two mandatory manager e-courses — one covering disability accommodation and the other supporting and managing employee attendance — were launched to ensure up-to-date training for managerial staff.

Removing transportation barriers

Much of the responsibility for removing barriers to transportation in �������� resides with municipalities. However, the OPS supports the provision of accessible transportation services whenever possible.

Measures were taken at the Pan/Parapan American Games to support accessible transportation services and help ensure all spectators could travel across the region to cheer and celebrate together. These measures included enhancing conventional transit service and providing direct service between the region’s rapid transit network and competition venues. Transit Hubs were also located throughout the region, primarily at major transit stations, to support accessible travel and barrier-free routes within the stations. Infrastructure improvements were completed, including drop curbs, sidewalk upgrades and rest areas along routes and at venues. Accessible shuttle bus services and transit pick-up and drop-off facilities were also made available at appropriate venues and stations.

Accessible OPS facilities and public spaces

The OPS’ goal is to ensure there is greater accessibility into, out of and around all public service facilities and public spaces. This includes all provincial government public spaces, �������� Parks and associated properties, such as boardwalks, beaches and beach access routes.

In 2015, all newly constructed or extensively renovated OPS facilities and public spaces were made accessible by complying with the Guidelines for Barrier-free Design in �������� Government Facilities and the Design of Public Spaces Standard under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. More barrier-free campsites, comfort stations, parking spots and leisure areas, as well as greater access to shorelines, were provided in �������� Parks.

All project and asset management staff were trained on enhanced accessibility requirements under the amended �������� Building Code that came into effect January 1, 2015 and the Design of Public Spaces Standard.

The last of twenty provincial highway service centres along Highways 400 and 401 — the Innisfil ONRoute Highway Service Centre — was completed with design and accessibility features that exceed the �������� Building Code requirements. All new and modernized service centres now provide travellers with safe and accessible facilities at which to rest, eat and refuel.

Since January 2015, new or reconstructed intersections that have signals on provincial highways have been equipped with Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS) to address the growing need for more accessible infrastructure. These APS intersections are equipped with features, such as a pushbutton locator tone, tactile walking surfaces, smooth ramps and push buttons with tactile arrows in the direction of crossing.

Procurement made accessible

The OPS continues to implement a procurement program that considers the needs of people with disabilities at all stages of the procurement and purchasing process to help ensure that goods and services at all government facilities are accessible.

�������� ensures accessibility considerations are embedded in procurement planning and that procurement processes are barrier-free. These requirements increase opportunities for all suppliers doing business with the Government of ��������, including those with disabilities.

Procurement documents include language to inform vendors of their responsibility to comply with applicable AODA requirements. In addition, guidelines and checklists are utilized across the OPS to meet accessibility obligations in procurement. For example, a completed “Accessibility Assessment for Procurement” form was mandated by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to be attached when submitting a Business Case for Procurement for review, for all procurements of $10,000 or more. This new process helped ensure that accessibility criteria were incorporated in their procurement processes.

Across the OPS

In 2015, the OPS continued to identify barriers to accessibility and actively seek solutions to prevent or remove them. Following an accessibility review of statutes with a high impact on persons with disabilities, amendments were made in 2016 to 11 statutes to ensure that �������� laws better reflect accessibility considerations.

In 2015, the Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure partnered with the U.S. Consulate General in Toronto to host the Accessibility Innovation Showcase (AIS) at an accessible venue. The showcase was open to OPS staff as well as the public. It helped raise the profile of accessibility and demonstrated advances in technology and market-ready innovations that can address accessibility barriers and stimulate investment and economic growth. AIS also coincided with the 2015 Parapan American Games, the 10^th anniversary of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and the 25^th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

A look ahead

The OPS has had many successes in advancing accessibility across �������� and supporting the government’s goal of making �������� accessible by 2025.

�������� will continue to report on progress and achievements and to build on what government has accomplished. This will help the OPS to effectively embed accessibility across the organization in our legislative, policy and program initiatives and practices.

The new five-year Multi-Year Accessibility Plan, for 2017– 2021, is in development and will include contributions from across government, including OPS staff, outlining priorities and commitments that the �������� government wants to achieve over the next five years.

The OPS looks forward to exploring ways to continuously improve its performance in this area and sharing its continued progress on making the Government of �������� and the public service as inclusive, equitable and accessible as possible.

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