Legal Information – AODA Multi-Year Accessibility Plan
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Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) AODA Multi-Year Accessibility Plan

Version 1.0
11.19.2021

The Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) is committed to providing accessible customer service to people with disabilities in a way that is consistent with the principles of dignity, independence, integration, and equal opportunity to obtain, use, and benefit from the ICTC’s goods and services. For a detailed description of each principle, please visit www.AccessOn.ca.

INTRODUCTION

ICTC is a not-for-profit organization that is subject to the provisions of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (“AODA”), which exists to ensure greater accessibility for Ontarians of all abilities. AODA is Ontario’s roadmap to become barrier-free and includes accessibility standards in:

  • Customer Service
  • Information and Communications
  • Employment
  • Transportation
  • Design of Public Spaces

Under AODA, Ontario organizations, including ICTC, are required to develop multi-year accessibility plans in support of making Ontario accessible by 2025.

ICTC’s Multi-Year Accessibility Plan (“Accessibility Plan”) outlines its compliance with AODA, including the requirements set by the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulations. ICTC is committed to fulfilling its obligations under AODA and making its premises and services accessible to all Ontarians.

This Accessibility Plan is available to all ICTC employees and the public via our external website and can be requested in an accessible format at no charge using the contact information at the end of this document.

STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT

At ICTC, we are committed to doing all we can to respect the core principles of accessibility legislation: dignity, independence, integration, and equal opportunity. We will incorporate these principles into our policies, procedures, training, and best practices. Our aim is to allow all Ontarians access to our services and information when and in the form that they need them, regardless of their abilities or disabilities.
Ensuring our operations are accessible and barrier-free is a shared effort. As an organization, we are dedicated to working with the people of Ontario to make accessibility for everyone a reality.

INTEGRATED ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS REGULATION (“IASR”) REQUIREMENTS

General Requirements

Accessibility Policies and Plans

Item

Action

Status

Establishment of accessibility policies

 Policy posted on ICTC website and in the Employee Handbook

 Complete

Create a multi-year plan outlining ICTC strategy to prevent removing barriers

 Version 1.0 posted on our website

  Complete/Ongoing

Accessibility Training

Ensure all employees are trained on “AODA: Customer Service Standards Training”

  Annual training completed by all staff every Q1  Complete/Ongoing

Ensure all employees are trained on “Accessibility in Tech Course: How to Be an Accessible Ally”

  Plans in place to modify the course for ICTC employees  Planning completion and roll out Q4 2023

Maintain records of training, including dates and people trained

  ICTC training software tracks time and date completed and quiz results Complete/Ongoing

Procurement

When assessing vendors, include accessible design

 ICTC will incorporate accessibility design/features when procuring goods and services, except where it is impracticable

  ICTC will incorporate accessibility into our procurement policy by Q1 2022

Information and Communication Standards

Feedback

Have a process for receiving and responding to feedback that is accessible to persons with disabilities by accommodating requests for accessible formats

ICTC has posted on our website an Employee Handbook and the feedback process

Complete
Accessible Formats and Communication Supports
When requested, provide information in accessible formats and/or communication support for persons with disabilities in a timely manner and at no extra cost to and in consultation with the person making the request

ICTC accommodates requests for accessible formats and communication support, and has notified the public on our website

  Complete
Accessible Website and Web Content
All new websites and web content comply with WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) 2.0 Level AA Under development Planned completion by end of Q1 2022
All current websites and web content comply with WCAG 2.0 Level AA. ICTC is in the process of redoing all our websites and web content Ongoing, planned completion is end of Q1 2022
All websites and web content will be reviewed on an annual basis to ensure compliance with AODA guidelines as they update. Should this require redesign and new functionality, ICTC will wherever possible Complete / Ongoing
All videos/vlogs will offer either close captioning or transcript option for those with hearing a disability pending funder approval. ICTC is in the process of pricing out this accessibly tool for our video/vlogs pending funder approval Planned completion by Q4 2023
All social media posts are WCAG 2.0 Level AA, with auto caption generator for videos on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram (pending site accommodation)  ICTC will be ensuring that descriptive text is used for social media posts when the images do not reflect the captions text Complete/Planning completion in Q1 2022

Employment Standards

Recruitment

Letting internal and external applicants know what accommodation is available upon request

ICTC will update all job postings to include information about accessibility accommodations

Planned for completion December 31, 2021
Successful applicants are notified about the organization’s policies for accommodating employees with disabilities

ICTC Employee Handbook outlines the process for requesting accommodation and reading the Employee Handbook is a mandatory onboarding task

  Complete
Informing Employees of Supports ICTC policies for supporting employees with disabilities  Informing employees about Employees are required to review all policies during onboarding  Complete/Ongoing
 All employees are updated whenever there is a change to the existing policies on the provision of job accommodation  New and/or updated polices are assigned to all employees for review and acknowledgement

Complete/Ongoing
Accessible Formats and Communication Supports
Consult with employees who have disclosed they need accommodation for a disability and provide them with the accessible formats and communication support they require to do their jobs effectively  ICTC will provide accommodation as required  Complete/Ongoing
Workplace Emergency Response Information
 ICTC is a remote workforce, however, for collaborative hybrid spaces that employees have the option of using, ICTC will provide individual workplace emergency response information for staff with disabilities where necessary  Individual accommodation plans for employees with disabilities include individual emergency response requirements  Planned completion, once ICTC has a collaborative hybrid office space Q4 2022

Return to Work

ICTC has a process/outline of steps that will be taken to help employees return to work after an absence

ICTC will update its current process to enable those with a disability to be accommodated

Planned completion Q4 2022

Performance Management and Career Development
Performance management processes account for the accessibility needs of employees with disabilities as well as individual accommodation plans for employees with disabilities

ICTC’s annual review/performance management process will be updated to include a statement about accommodating disability requests

Planned completed by Q4 2022
Consider the accessibility needs of employees with disabilities, as well as any individual accommodation plans, when providing career development and advancement to its employees with disabilities.  ICTC will update its internal posting process, stating we will provide accommodation to people with disabilities

Planned completed by Q3 2022

Tools

Employee Training

ICTC purchased an online training tool that provides captions for training videos, summarizes the narrator’s comments, and offers video training transcripts upon request to all ICTC employees

Complete
 HRIS ICTC purchased an HRIS that is WCAG 2.0 compatible and enables Google Chrome’s accessibility features for all staff and external job site and candidate applications  Complete
 Equipment
 To enable working from home, ICTC provides its employees with the equipment they need to do their job: laptops, external keyboards, mouse, large screen monitors, headphones/microphones, sit/stand desks adapter

Complete/Ongoing

Design of Public Spaces

ICTC is committed to providing accessible spaces. ICTC is fully remote company

ICTC anticipates opening a collaboration space in Ottawa, Ontario, in January 2022. This collaboration space will be in a wheelchair-accessible building and have a collaboration desk space that can accommodate sit/standing capabilities

Planned completed by Q4 2022
 Customer Service
Establish and maintain a policy governing the provision of goods and services to persons with disabilities, including the use of assistive devices, service animals and support persons, notice of temporary disruptions, etc.  ICTC’s customer service policy is part of the AODA policy

Complete/Ongoing 
Maintain records of training, including dates and number of people trained  ICTC tracks all training by date, employee, test results and course Complete/Ongoing
Develop a process to receive and respond to feedback about customer service that is accessible to persons with disabilities, including specifying actions that will be taken to address complaints. Notify the public about the feedback process  ICTC included details about its feedback process on our website

Complete
Upon request, provide or arrange  for information in accessible formats and/or communication supports for persons with disabilities, in a timely manner and at no extra cost, and in consultation with the person making the request. 

ICTC accommodates requests for accessible formats and communication supports, and notifies the public via its website 

  Complete/Ongoing 
Notify the public about the availability of accessible formats and communication supports. In the event of a planned or unexpected disruption in services used by persons with disabilities, provide notice that includes information about the reason for the disruption, expected duration of disruption, and a description of any alternative facilities or services available (if any). Post on website

Posted on ICTC’s website and in the Employee Handbook as part of the AODA policy

  Complete/Ongoing
 All new customer training modules are WCAG 2.0 Level AA compliant

ICTC training modules since 2020 have been WCAG 2.0 Level AA compliant 

 Complete/Ongoing

For more information on ICTC’s Accessibility Plan, please contact Human Resources at [email protected], 613-237-855.1

Our Accessibility Plan is publicly posted at https://www.ictc-ctic.ca/legal/accessibility/

Standard and accessible formats of this document are free upon request from Human Resources, [email protected] 613-237-8551.

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