ACCESSIBILITY IN RAMARA TOWNSHIP

The Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001 (ODA) requires municipalities to prepare an Accessibility Plan by consulting with persons with disabilities.  Municipalities with populations greater than 10,000 people are required to establish Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC).  Ramara’s current population is 9472 and therefore is not required to establish an AAC, however holds annual public meetings to receive input from persons with disabilities.  Ramara’s Accessibility Plan was first developed in 2003 and has been updated annually.

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 was passed to achieve accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities with respect to goods, services, facilities, accommodation, employment, building, structures and premises on or before January 1, 2025 by developing, implementing and enforcing accessibility standards.

The Act recognizes the history of discrimination against persons with disabilities and established the following standards to overcome barriers:

• ·         Customer Service Standard

• ·         Integrated Accessibility Standard

• ·         Built Environment Standard

The Customer Service Standard became law on January 1, 2008 and Township Council adopted its Accessible Customer Service Policy on November 9, 2009, effective on January 1, 2010.

The next three standards – Employment, Information and Communications, and Transportation – have been incorporated into one regulation, the Integrated Accessibility Standard Regulation (IASR), which is now law and is being phased in between the years 2011 and 2025.  The following chart provides timelines of the IASR requirements for Ramara Township:

Township Council adopted its 2013-2018 Multi-Year Accessibility Plan and associated policies on December 10, 2012.

Links to more information regarding Accessibility:

AccessON

Independent Living Services of Simcoe County

Accessibility Directory

Assistive Device Exchange

Posted 2013-02-05 09:44:40