Accessibility

1. Support person means, in relation to a person with a disability, another person who accompanies him or her in order to help with communication, mobility, personal care or medical needs or with access to goods or services.
2. The Town of Goderich will allow people with disabilities, who require, to be accompanied by a support person in all Town owned and operated public facilities. The Town of Goderich reserves the right to request the person with a disability be accompanied by a support person, in the event that it is considered necessary to protect the health and safety of the person with a disability or others on the premises.
3. The Town of Goderich will waive admission fees for support persons who accompany a person with a disability, into facilities where admission is charged.
   1. Member of public should notify a staff member about the presence of the support person.
   2. If there is confidential information to be disclosed, consent must be received from the person with the disability.

Should a member of the public wish to make a complaint regarding the service they have received:

1. The member of the public with the complaint or concern should have a discussion with the staff person at the Town of Goderich who is involved in the situation.
2. Should the discussion not resolve the complaint or the member of the public is uncomfortable discussing the issue with the staff person, the member of the public shall fill out a complaint form. The staff person can assist the member of the public with the complaint form in a manner that takes into consideration their disability.
3. The information to be provided by the member of the public shall include their personal contact information, the date, a description of the complaint, and what the member of the public is requesting in order to resolve the complaint. This information shall be documented on the complaint form.
4. The complaint shall be forwarded to the Supervisor and Senior Management Team member responsible for the department, and the Chief Administrative Officer.
5. The department Supervisor and/or Senior Management Team member of that department will attempt to resolve the complaint in a timely manner.
6. The member of the public will be contacted once a resolution has been reached.

Should a member of the public wish to provide the Town of Goderich with a suggestion on how to improve our service:

1. Member of the public will inform staff member of the suggestion.
2. Staff member will assist member of the public in filling out the suggestion form, should they require assistance.
3. Member of the public will be notified in a timely manner of how the Town of Goderich will proceed with their suggestion.
4. Staff response should include: an explanation of how we will implement the suggestion, a response indicating further investigation or an explanation why we are unable to implement the suggestion.

The Town of Goderich welcomes feedback on how we provide accessible customer service.   Customer feedback will help us identify barriers and respond to concerns.   All feedback including complaints and suggestions shall be recorded on a complaint/comment form, and forwarded to the Department head, Senior Management Team member for that department, and the Chief Administrative Officer.  The Town of Goderich ensures our feedback process is accessible to people with disabilities by providing or arranging for accessible formats and communication supports, on request.   

1. 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 (for example, elevators) and if there is a temporary disruption in those facilities or services in whole or in part, the Town of Goderich shall give notice of the disruption to the public.
2. Notice of the disruption must include information about the reason for the disruption, its anticipated duration and a description of alternate facilities or services, if any, that are available.
3. Notice will be given by posting the information at a conspicuous place on premises owned or operated by the provider of goods or services, as well as by posting it on the Town of Goderich website.
4. If the Town of Goderich Website should expect a temporary service disruption, advance notice where possible, keeping with the conditions of section 9, shall be provided on the website.

For the purpose of this policy, a 'service animal' is defined as either:

1. A "guide dog," as defined in section 1 of the Blind Persons Rights' Act; or
2. A "service animal" for a person with a disability. For the purpose of this policy, an animal is a service animal for a person with a disability,
   1. if it is readily apparent that the animal is used by the person for the reasons relating to his or her disability; or
   2. if the person provides a letter from a physician or nurse confirming that the person requires the animal for reasons relating to the disability.
3. The Town of Goderich will allow the person and the animal onto all Town of Goderich owned and operated public facilities that are open to the public, and will ensure that the person is permitted to keep the animal with him or her unless the animal is otherwise excluded by law.
4. If a service animal is excluded by law from the premises, the provider of goods or services shall ensure that other measures are available to enable the person with a disability to obtain, use or benefit from the provider's goods or services.

1. The Town shall be obligated to provide or arrange for accessible formats and communication supports for persons with disabilities:

   a)      Upon request in a timely manner that takes into account the persons’ accessibility needs due to a disability;

   b)      At a cost that is no more than the regular cost charged to other persons;

   c)      Consult with the person making the request and determine suitability of an accessible format or communication support;

   d)      Notify the public about the availability of accessible formats and communication supports.

    

   Alternate formats that should be considered by the Town of Goderich and the person with the disability will include, but are not limited to:

Print Requests:

Requests for alternate formats should be honoured in the most practical manner depending on the media chosen, the size and complexity of the document, the quality and source of the documents, the feasibility of the request (including the cost) and the number of documents to be converted. It should be noted that when request for one of these formats is received and deemed feasible, staff should make every attempt to respond to the request in the most practical manner and to the satisfaction of the requestor. If it is determined that the format requested is not feasible, then other alternate methods of providing the information should be explored that will still meet the needs of the requestor (e.g. Audio CD or explaining the information verbally etc.).

1. Employee receives request from member of the public for alternate format.
2. Employee fills out alternative format request form.
3. Forwards request onto the relevant department and the appropriate corporate department;
4. The department head and the appropriate corporate department determine feasibility;
5. Proceeds with alternate format request.
6. If not feasible; contact individual with feasible solution.

ASL Interpreter Request: 

1. Employee receives request from public for ASL Interpreter.
2. Employee fills out alternative format request form.
3. Forwards request onto the relevant department and the appropriate corporate department.
4. The department contacts Canadian Hearing Society to make request.
5. Once Canadian Hearing Society confirms attendance of ASL Interpreter, the department contacts individual.
6. If ASL Interpreter is not available, individual will be contacted with an alternate solution.

Feasibility will be determined based upon cost in relation to size of document and time associated with processing document requests.

The time frame attached to the conversion process varies depending on the media chosen, the size, complexity, quality of source documents and number of documents to be converted. Documents shall be returned in a timely manner depending on the factors previously noted.

Conversion shall be processed in-house wherever possible. When a member of the public requests a piece of Town documentation in a multiple format, the department of origin shall be responsible for the cost of the conversion, materials and distribution, not the public requestor.

In-house printing, where possible, should adhere to the CNIB's Clear Print Standards.

The Town of Goderich is committed to training all staff and volunteers in accessible customer service, other Ontario accessibility standards and aspects of the Ontario Human Rights Code that relate to persons with disabilities.  

In addition, the Town of Goderich will train:

a)      Every person who deals with members of the public or other third parties on behalf of the Town, whether the person does so as an employee, agent, volunteer or otherwise.

b)      Every person who participates in developing the Town's policies, practices and procedures governing the provision of goods or services to members of the public or other third parties.

Training of our employees and volunteers on accessibility relates to their specific roles.

Training includes the requirements of this Policy and:

• The purpose of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 and the requirements of the Customer Service Standards
• Town of Goderich policies related to the Customer Service Standards
• 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-site or otherwise 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.

The Town of Goderich trains every employee as soon as practicable after being hired and provides training in respect of any changes to the policies. 

The Town of Goderich logs and retains records which record the details of the training provided, as well as the name of the person(s) and date the training was completed.

The Town of Goderich will customize the training going forward, based on the actual experiences, usage of the persons with disability in Town of Goderich owned or operated facilities and legislative requirements as they come down from the province.

1. The Town of Goderich will allow persons with disabilities to use their own personal assistive devices to obtain, use or benefit from the services offered by the Town of Goderich
2. Should a person with a disability be unable to access the Town's services through the use of their own personal assistive device, the Town of Goderich will ensure the following measures:
   1. Determine if service is inaccessible, based upon individual requirements.
   2. Assess service delivery and potential service options to meet the needs of the individual.
   3. Notify person with disability of alternative service and how they can access the service, temporarily or on a permanent basis.