Allen Mankewich, a consultant with the Independent Living Resource Centre who uses a wheelchair, says the broken lift forces people in wheelchairs to travel blocks out of their way on snowy sidewalks just to cross the street.
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Temporary Service Disruptions: When and How to Notify Customers
Under the Customer Service Standard of the AODA, service providers must notify customers about temporary service disruptions. Temporary service disruptions happen when services that customers with disabilities might rely on are temporarily unavailable.
There are many reasons why different kinds of services might be temporarily unavailable, including:
Read more at
https://aoda.ca/temporary-service-disruptions-when-and-how-to-notify-customers/
Service Animal Laws for Ontario Workplaces
Under the Customer Service Standard of the AODA, service providers’ policies must state that they welcome service animals. Service animals are animals, typically dogs, trained to help people with disabilities maintain independence. Here we outline service animal laws that service providers must follow.
Read more at
https://aoda.ca/service-animal-laws-for-ontario-workplaces/
Understanding Service Animals
Under the Customer Service Standard of the AODA, service providers’ policies must state that they welcome service animals. The Standard discusses how service providers must allow service animals in almost all public places. It also outlines what providers must do to accommodate customers who need to go to places where their service animals are excluded by law. However, service providers committed to obeying these laws may still have many questions about service animals, such as what they do and how to behave around them. Here we offer some best practices for understanding service animals that service providers should follow.
Read more at
https://aoda.ca/understanding-service-animals/
Still Work to Do in Meeting Accessibility Standards
When Anna Froebe, an independent HR consultant who works with business owners in this community, is asked how many businesses are likely not compliant with the rules and deadlines they must follow to meet provincial accessibility standards under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, she doesn’t hesitate to offer a guess.
Read more at
https://aoda.ca/still-work-to-do-in-meeting-accessibility-standards/
Accessibility in the Digital Age: Okanagan Parent Voices Concern Over Technology Accessibility
In the midst of a digital revolution with smartphones and apps, there are some people who are fighting a battle so they don’t get left behind. A blind Okanagan parent is speaking out after School District 23 introduced an app that he says makes it difficult for him to report his daughters’ absences from class.
Read more at
https://aoda.ca/accessibility-in-the-digital-age-okanagan-parent-voices-concern-over-technology-accessibility/
Court Ruling Further Clarifies ADA Website Accessibility Obligations
By way of background, Title III of the ADA prohibits discrimination against individuals on the basis of disability with regard to their participation and equal enjoyment in places of public accommodation. These types of issues historically have arisen in brick-and-mortar buildings and involve issues such as lack of accessible tables in restaurants, insufficient ramps, and inaccessible bathrooms, and Congress has never issued any regulations expanding the ADA’s application to websites. Nonetheless, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has emphasized that businesses should make websites accessible to disabled individuals by relying on a set of private industry standards developed by the World Wide Web Consortium known as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (“WCAG”).
Read more at
http://www.accessibilitynewsinternational.com/court-ruling-further-clarifies-ada-website-accessibility-obligations/
Accessible Customer Service Policies in Ontario
Under the Customer Service Standard of the AODA, service providers must create, implement, and maintain accessible customer service policies. These policies must outline how providers will serve customers with disabilities in accessible ways. Moreover, private businesses with fifty or more workers and all public sector organizations must put their policies in writing. Furthermore, they must give copies of their accessible customer service policies to any people who ask for them, and make the public aware that these copies are available upon request.
Read more at
https://aoda.ca/accessible-customer-service-policies-in-ontario/
Non-Profits, MPs Lead Disability Mission to Israel
Canadian lawyer and lecturer David Lepofsky, who campaigns for disability rights as well as speaking in Israel and abroad on disability issues, compared the progress Israel and Canada have made in terms of accessibility.
“I can’t tell you one country is better than the other,” he said. “Israel is doing some things and should be proud. Canada is doing some things and should be proud. And they both have things they should be doing.”
Read more at
http://www.accessibilitynewsinternational.com/non-profits-mps-lead-disability-mission-to-israel/
Phones Still Aren’t Quite Right for People With Disabilities
Mobile phones are increasingly more accessible for people with disabilities, but there are still some significant gaps in service, according to a new study.
Read more at
http://www.accessibilitynewsinternational.com/phones-still-arent-quite-right-for-people-with-disabilities/