Accessibility

This month, January 2012, the Customer Service Standard of the Access For Ontarians With Disabilities Act (AODA) came into effect. All businesses with at least one employee are required to comply with the standard.  This includes establishing policies, practices and procedures governing the provision of goods or services to people with disabilities, and training employees in the way to act with persons with disabilities. 

The Act is not about making facilities accessible, but about making your services accessible.  For example, you may have a policy that staff are required to read signs and literature for a person with a visual impairment.

For information about the Act, have a look at Ontario's Guide to the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service, Ontario Regulation 429/07:    http://www.aoda.ca/?page_id=13