Just over a year ago, the McGuinty government proclaimed the landmark Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, which requires the province to develop accessibility standards that will apply to the private and public sector across the entire province in order to address and remove barriers for people with disabilities.
Proposed standards are being drafted by standards development committees, each made up of representatives from the disability community as well as the public and private sectors. Once a proposed standard is drafted, it is posted for public review and feedback. The committee members may then use that feedback to assist them in modifying the proposed standard before they submit it to the Minister. Once the Minister receives the final proposed standard, she has 90 days to advise the committee whether she will recommend that the proposed standard be adopted in regulation, in whole, in part, or with changes.
The first two committees to be established have been working on drafting proposed accessibility standards in the areas of customer service and transportation.
On October 23, 2006, the government announced that the proposed standard on accessible customer service would be posted on the Web for public review and feedback.
The public review process will be open from October 23, 2006 to December 20, 2006.
To provide comments on the proposed standard please click on the following link:
Public Review Form
For more information, please view the following links:
More on the committee that drafted the proposed standard
Proposed standard on accessible customer service
Initial Proposed Customer Service Standard - Discussion Paper
Letter of Transmittal respecting Initial Proposed Customer Service Standard for Public Review
Report from Price Waterhouse Coopers - Readiness Assessment and Estimated Cost to Implement the Initial Proposed Customer Service Standard
Frequently Asked Questions
October 23, 2006