Accessibility

2. General layout
2.1 Introduction

The Municipality of Casselman is a charming, fast-growing community. It boasts captivating natural spaces and several public parks, offering residents and visitors of all ages, places for sports, play or relaxation. Casselman is also recognized as a service center for the region, with its many restaurants, shops and professional services.

2.2. Provincial standards

To make Ontario accessible to people with disabilities, the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 requires designated public sector and large organizations to establish, implement, maintain and document a multi-year accessibility plan. This plan outlines its continued strategy for preventing and removing barriers, and for meeting the requirements of provincial standards by adopting appropriate strategies and measures.

2.3. Declaration of commitment

The Municipality of Casselman recognizes the right of every person living with a disability to live a lifestyle based on dignity, independence, integration, equal opportunity and the right to participate fully in all aspects of community life.

Consequently, the Municipality of Casselman declares its commitment to work with its citizens on an ongoing basis to eliminate existing barriers for people living with disabilities and to prevent new barriers from being created in the future:

• Adopting an annual budget to improve accessibility to services.
• Improving accessibility to buildings, facilities and services for people with functional limitations.
• Ensuring equitable access to employment within the municipality.
• Ensuring quality services for all members of the community living with a disability.
• Incorporating accessibility standards and criteria into the process of acquiring products and services for the municipality.

2.4. Guiding principles

Liability

A municipality has a fundamental responsibility to ensure that all members of its community have equal access to public facilities and services. In addition, municipalities must also prioritize the implementation of provincial accessibility legislation, including the adoption of policies and practices that promote integration and social inclusion, such as accessible communication and information on employment opportunities.

Commitment

A municipality's commitment to accessibility is essential to ensuring that all residents have equal access to public facilities, services and opportunities. The Municipality of Casselman has chosen to value accessibility and create a more inclusive and equitable community that benefits all residents.

Dignity and fairness

Dignity is a fundamental human right that should be extended to all residents, visitors and employees of the Municipality of Casselman. Accessibility plays an essential role in respecting this right by ensuring that people with disabilities are not excluded or marginalized from participating in daily life. By ensuring that everyone has equal access to resources, services and opportunities, we can create a fairer and more equitable society in which everyone is valued and respected.

3. Definitions
3.1. Person with a disability

For the purposes of this policy, "disability" is defined under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 as:

Any degree of physical disability, infirmity, malformation or disfigurement due to bodily injury, congenital abnormality or disease, and, in particular, diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, head trauma, any degree of paralysis, amputation, motor incoordination, blindness or visual impairment, deafness or hearing impairment, mute or speech impediment, or the need for a guide dog or other animal, wheelchair or other corrective appliance or device.

An intellectual or developmental disability

A learning difficulty or dysfunction in one or more of the processes involved in understanding or using symbols or spoken language

A mental disorder

An injury or disability for which benefits have been claimed or received under the insurance plan established under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997. 

3.2. Service animal

For the purposes of this policy, "service animal" means any of the following:

A guide dog as defined in Article 1 of the Blind Persons' Rights Act

A service animal for a person with a disability. For the purposes of this policy, an animal is a service animal for a person with a disability

If it is obvious that the animal is used by the person for reasons related to his or her disability; or

If the person provides a letter from a doctor or nurse confirming that the person needs the animal for reasons related to their disability.

3.3. Support person

For the purposes of this policy, a support person is defined as a person who accompanies a person with a disability in order to help with communication, mobility, personal care, medical care or access to goods and services.

4. Application of the policy
4.1. Application

This policy applies to employees of the Municipality of Casselman. For questions or comments, the Town Clerk is the primary contact.

4.2 Accessibility working group

Considering that accessibility is everyone's responsibility, the following people are part of the working group: the mayor, the general manager, all department heads and any other parties who may need to be consulted.

At a minimum, the group meets annually to record achievements in terms of accessibility and to identify areas for improvement. Suggestions will be put forward when the annual budget is drawn up.

The Clerk acts as coordinator of this plan and is responsible for its renewal.

5. Policy requirements
5.1. Implementation of departmental requirements

• Communications will be conducted in such a way as to take account of the person's disabilities.
• Persons with disabilities accompanied by a guide dog or service animal are permitted to enter areas of the premises owned or operated by the municipality that are generally open to the public, unless the animal is excluded by law.
• Persons with disabilities, accompanied by a support person, will be allowed to be accompanied by this support person on premises normally open to the public.
• Notice will be given when the facilities or services on which disabled persons depend to access the services of the Municipality of Casselman are temporarily disrupted.
• The Municipality of Casselman uses barrier identification methods including facility audits and more;
• The Municipality of Casselman maintains a procedure for citizens to provide feedback on the accessibility of goods and services provided by the municipality.
• The Municipality of Casselman recognizes that persons with disabilities may choose to use their own assistive devices to obtain, use or benefit from services offered by the Municipality.
• The Municipality of Casselman is committed to providing training to municipal staff.

5.2. Feedback

Anyone may comment, send a request or file a complaint regarding the Municipality of Casselman's accessibility program. The following methods are available to those concerned:

• Fill out the form about the accessibility of facilities and services at the following address: www.casselman.ca
• Send an e-mail describing the nature of the complaint or concern to the following e-mail address: info@casselman.ca
• Contact the Accessibility Coordinator by telephone at 613-764-3139, or by mail at the following address Municipality of Casselman, 751 St-Jean, Casselman, Ontario, K0A 1M0.

Regardless of the method used to route the request, a reply will be provided within 30 days. 

The Accessibility Coordinator is responsible for processing requests. If the Coordinator, or his delegate, is unable to agree on a resolution to the request, the matter is referred to the General Manager for a decision. If the General Manager is unable to reach a solution, the matter may be submitted to the City Council for a final decision.

5.3 Service interruption

The Municipality must give advance notice to the public of any planned interruption, partial or total, of services or facilities offered to people with disabilities. In the case of unplanned interruptions, the Municipality will notify the public as soon as possible.
The public notice must include the reason for the interruption, its expected duration and proposed alternatives.

5.4. Document format

If the Municipality of Casselman is asked to provide a copy of a document to a person with a disability, the Municipality must give that person the document or the information contained in the document, in a format that takes into account the person's disability. 

The duration of the conversion process varies according to the size, complexity and quality of the source documents, the number of documents to be converted and, if applicable, the conversion budget. Documents are delivered within a reasonable timeframe, depending on the above-mentioned factors.

Wherever possible, conversion is carried out internally. If the conversion is carried out externally, the costs are borne by the department budget and/or the administration budget, not by the applicant.

6. Customer service

As a designated public sector organization, we are required to meet all accessibility standards for customer service under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA).

In January 2008, the municipality implemented its Accessibility Standards for Customer Service policy, which aims to ensure the provision of goods, services and facilities to people with disabilities, and to adapt these services/facilities to comply with the customer service standard set out in Part IV.2 of Ontario Regulation 191/11.

6.1. Past achievements

• Replacement of nine entrance doors at city hall, the Paul-Émile Lévesque center, Richelieu park and the public works office.
• Replacement of the ramp at the town hall.
• Design of a new website in compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 level AA to ensure accessibility of information for our residents (launch date: early 2024). 

6.2. Strategy and actions

• Continue to guarantee accessibility of services to our residents and visitors by complying with AODA standards.
• Continue to renovate facilities or construct new buildings, striving to improve and incorporate accessibility features for our residents. 
• Continue the evaluation and review of parks and recreational facilities in conjunction with the development of a master plan to increase participation in recreation programs for people with special needs. 
• Update the policy on accessibility standards for customer services set out in Part IV.2 of Ontario Regulation 191/11.

7. Information and Communications

In accordance with the AODA Information and Communication Standards, the municipality is required to provide documents in accessible formats and communication assistance when providing information to people with disabilities who request it. We will communicate with people with disabilities in a way that takes their needs into account.

We will also meet the internationally recognized requirements of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA, in accordance with Ontario accessibility legislation, and ensure that they are kept up to date.

7.1. Past achievements

• The design of a new website in compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 level AA to ensure accessibility of information for our residents (launch date: early 2024). 
• The introduction of an online form enabling residents to give their views on accessibility. 
• The use of emergency alerts, offering a flexible notification solution to our residents, who can opt for text messages or emails.

7.2. Strategies and actions

• Increase promotion of municipal accessibility initiatives on social media.
• Continue to ensure that the municipality's website and web applications comply with AODA standards.
• Ensure that the reception process meets the needs of people with disabilities.

8. Employment

As an employer in Ontario, the municipality must comply with Ontario's employment accessibility standards to meet the needs of employees and job applicants with disabilities.

8.1. Past achievements

• Renovation of the tourist office to include accessible facilities to accommodate disabled summer employees. 

8.2. Strategies and actions

• Continue to ensure that the municipality's employment policies and practices are inclusive of people with disabilities.
• Expand human resources policies relating to the provision of accommodation on the basis of disability, and accessible employment, setting out the municipality's commitment to the prevention and removal of barriers for people with disabilities, and the establishment of procedures by which people with disabilities can request accommodation.
• Maintain a return-to-work process.

9. Purchasing

We will integrate accessibility criteria and features into the contracting and acquisition of goods, services and facilities.

9.1. Past achievements

• For our tenders, we use the Bids & Tenders application, which provides accessible digital solutions in accordance with the requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.
• We publish tenders via our website, which complies with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 level AA.

9.2. Strategies and actions

• Continue to ensure that accessibility criteria are essential requirements of the procurement process when acquiring or purchasing goods, services and/or facilities.
• Continue to work with suppliers and community partners to meet or exceed accessibility requirements. 
• Update purchasing policy.

10. Training

The Municipality of Casselman is required to provide appropriate training on the AODA Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation and the Human Rights Code as it relates to persons with disabilities to all employees, volunteers and persons who participate in the development of municipal policies or who provide services or goods on behalf of the Municipality.

10.1. Past achievements

• Mandatory training for employees and new hires.
• AODA customer service training. 
• Training on understanding human rights.

10.2. Strategies and actions

• Ensure that mandatory accessibility training is offered to employees.
• Encourage employee registration for training activities to increase knowledge of accessibility.

11. Designing public spaces

The Municipality of Casselman will comply with the accessibility standards for the design of public spaces if it makes major modifications to an existing public space - or builds a new one - that is covered by these accessibility standards.

11.1. Past achievements

• Installation of a magic eye (wading pool), a ramp, three new structures, a safety surface, a toilet and an accessible door and button at Parc Richelieu as part of major renovations in 2021.
• Creation of a fully accessible park (Parc Tchou Tchou) on rue Barrage. 
• Addition of an accessible structure at Hydro Park and Optimist Park. 
• Replacement of entrance doors and addition of automatic buttons at City Hall, Complexe J.R. Brisson, Centre Paul-Émile Lévesque, Parc Richelieu and the Public Works Office.
• Fully accessible ramps at Town Hall, 750 Principale and Tourist Center.
• Installation of two pedestrian crosswalks on Principale Street.
• Installation of 6 platforms with benches that take into account the needs of sidewalk users (2020-2022).
• Installation of additional disabled parking spaces at the St-Isidore Street public parking lot, the train station, Complexe J.R. Brisson, Complexe J.R. Brisson community hall and 750 Principale.
• Installation of accessible pedestrian crossings: 
  • 2021 : Rue Brebeuf between rue Laurier and St-Isidore 
  • 2022 : Rue Laurier between rue Brébeuf and the entrance to École St-Paul
  • 2022 : Intersection of Principale, Laflèche and Racine streets
• Repairs to sidewalks including ramps and podotactile plates since 2020:
  • Rue Brebeuf between Laurier and St-Isidore 
  • Rue Principale in front of the A & W 
  • Rue Dollard between the railroad tracks and rue St-Joseph
  • Rue Principale east side between Paul-Émile Lévesque bridge and rue St-Isidore
  • Rue St-Joseph between rue Dollard and rue Yvon
  • Rue Principale between rue Montcalm and St-Isidore west side
  • Rue St-Isidore between rue Brébeuf and St-Joseph 
  • Rue Brebeuf between rue Dollard and behind the No Frills parking lot.

11.2. Strategies and actions

• Continue to maintain accessible elements in public spaces through regularly scheduled monitoring and preventive maintenance of accessible elements.
• Continue to respond to temporary disruptions when accessible elements in public spaces are not in working order, by informing the public and prioritizing corrective measures. 
• Ensure that restoration and new infrastructure construction projects include accessibility provisions.
• Provide a fully accessible city hall.

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