City of Guelph Accessibility InformationPeople with disabilities represent a significant and growing part of our population. According to Statistics Canada, about 1.5 million Ontarians have disabilities — about 13.5% of the population. It is estimated that 20% of the population will have disabilities in two decades. In the City of Guelph that represents over 20,000 people.
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA, 2005), which became law on June 13, 2005, provided the province with the mandate to develop, implement and enforce sets of accessibility standards. The AODA (2005) applies to both public and private sector organizations that employ at least 20 employees in Ontario and provide goods, service, facilities or accommodation to the public. There are five sets of accessibility standards in various stages of development and implementation:
To date, only the AODA Accessibility Standards for Customer Service (Ontario Regulation 429/07) (“the Accessible Standards for Customer Service Regulation”) has become law.
In 2009 City Council approved the The City of Guelph Accessible Customer Service PolicyThe City of Guelph is committed to providing quality goods and services which are accessible to all persons we serve; with this in mind we welcome your feedback, questions about the City's assistive devices and requests for City of Guelph public documents in an alternate format. Please contact the Administrator of Disability Services at accessibility@guelph.ca or by calling 519-822-1260 ext. 2670
Businesses and individuals that the City of Guelph has contracted to provide goods or services to City customers must ensure that these employee are trained on providing accessible customer service. There are Provincial training resources available that can be used at no charge. The City’s policy is link above. Please contact the City if more information is required.
The Ontario Government is developing new accessibility standards in the areas of customer service, transportation, information and communications, employment, and the built environment. The Accessible Customer Service Standard is now law. Private sector businesses referred to in the Accessible Standards for Customer Services are to be compliant by January 1, 2012. Please visit the Ministry of Community and Social Services website for more information and AccessOn.ca for business resources.
This bullet now reads:
be L shaped with 760 mm (30 in.) long horizontal and vertical components mounted with the horizontal component 750mm - 810mm (29-1/2 - 32 in.) above the floor and the vertical component 150mm (5-7/8 in.) in front of the toilet bowl; and
2005_Accessibility-Design-Manual with Grab Bar edit.pdf from February 5, 2010 update noted above included
