Customer service accessibility policy

Purpose and Statement

AMAPCEO is dedicated to providing diversity, equity, and inclusion by ensuring equal access to all individuals, including those with disabilities, in regard to the information and services provided by the Association. We are committed to fostering integration and addressing the unique needs of all individuals in a timely and respectful manner. 

To achieve this goal, AMAPCEO shall make every reasonable effort to align its policies, practices, and procedures related to the provision of information and services with the core principles of independence, dignity, integration, and equality of opportunity under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA), the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (IASR, O. Reg. 191/11), and the Ontario Human Rights Code. 

We recognize that the experiences of individuals with disabilities are shaped by intersecting identities, and we are committed to addressing systemic barriers through inclusive practices

Scope

The policy applies to all AMAPCEO employees, both unionized and non-unionized, when delivering information and services to AMAPCEO membership, activists, employer representatives, and other third parties.

Definitions 

The AODA and its integrated regulations provide relevant definitions that apply directly to this policy: 

• Assistive Device: An apparatus used to aid individuals with disabilities in carrying out tasks or accessing services. 
• Association and AMAPCEO: Refers to the AMAPCEO organization, including its employees, management, and volunteers.
• Barrier: Anything that keeps a person with a disability from participating fully in society because of their disability.
• Dignity: Treating individuals with disabilities as valued clients who deserve effective and complete service, respecting their chosen methods of access.
• Disability: As defined under the Ontario Human Rights Code, this includes any degree of physical infirmity, malformation, or disfigurement; mental impairment or developmental disability; learning disabilities; mental disorders; or an injury/disability for which benefits were claimed or received under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997.
• Equal Opportunity:  Providing the same chances, options, benefits, and outcomes as others without requiring significant additional effort or resulting in lower quality. 
• Guide Dog: A dog trained to guide a blind person, meeting qualifications specified by regulations under the Blind Persons’ Rights Act. 
• Independence: The freedom to make choices and perform tasks in one’s own way without external control or influence.
• Integration: Delivering services in a manner that allows individuals with disabilities to fully utilize the same services, in the same place, and in the same or similar way as others. 
• Premises: The AMAPCEO head office location at 1 Dundas Street West, Toronto, Suite 2310. 
• Service Animal: An animal used by a person with a disability where it is readily apparent visually, or where the person provides documentation from a regulated healthcare professional confirming the need for the animal.
• Service Disruption: Planned or unforeseen unavailability of facilities or services necessary for accessing AMAPCEO’s operations. 
• Support Person: An individual who accompanies a person with a disability to aid with communication, mobility, personal care, medical needs, or service access.

Provisions

Training and Records

• Mandatory Training: AMAPCEO provides accessibility training to all employees (both unionized and non-unionized), volunteers, all individuals who participate in developing organizational policies, and all other persons who provide information, services, or facilities on behalf of the organization.
• Strict Timelines: Training must be completed by every individual within thirty (30) days of hire or commencement of their specific duties. Refresher training will be executed regularly and immediately in respect of any changes to existing accessibility policies. 
• Core Content: Training is tailored to specific roles and covers the core purpose of the AODA, Customer Service Standards, communication techniques for diverse disabilities, and instructions on how to interact with individuals utilizing assistive devices, service animals, or support persons. It explicitly includes comprehensive modules on aspects of the Ontario Human Rights Code that relate to persons with disabilities. 
• Verified Logs: AMAPCEO maintains permanent records of the training provided, including verified completion dates and the exact number of individuals trained to satisfy ministerial audit tracking.

Assistive devices

• Personal devices: People with disabilities may freely use their personal assistive devices when accessing AMAPCEO's information, services, or facilities. 
• Safety exceptions: In rare circumstances where an assistive device presents a significant and unavoidable health or safety concern, AMAPCEO will not issue a blanket prohibition. Instead, staff will proactively collaborate with the individual to evaluate service delivery options and establish alternate measures to ensure full access. 
• Staff familiarity: AMAPCEO ensures that employees are thoroughly familiarized with various assistive devices and on-site equipment provided by the Association to support interaction. 

Communication and accessible formats

• Inclusive communication: AMAPCEO communicates with people with disabilities in ways that take into account their specific disability, utilizing clear, plain language. Staff will allow adequate time for communication, seek clarification, and consult with the individual to determine their preferred format. 
• Provision of documents: When requested, AMAPCEO will provide organizational information, services, and public safety data in an accessible format or with communication supports. These are delivered in a timely manner, taking into account the person's immediate needs, and at no additional cost beyond the regular rate charged to other persons. 
• Unconvertible information: If the organization determines that certain data or text is technically unconvertible, AMAPCEO shall formally provide the requestor with a written explanation detailing why the information cannot be converted, alongside a comprehensive descriptive summary of the unconvertible content. 
• Web content: AMAPCEO ensures its public websites and digital documentation meet internationally recognized Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA requirements in accordance with Ontario’s accessibility laws. 

Service animals

• Premises access: AMAPCEO welcomes individuals with disabilities and their service animals. Service animals are permitted across all areas of our premises that are open to the public, membership, or third parties. 
• Verification: When staff cannot easily identify that an animal is a service animal through visual indicators (such as a harness or vest), they may request a letter or form from a regulated health professional confirming that the individual requires the animal for reasons relating to their disability. 
• Legal prohibitions: If a service animal is excluded from the premises by another provincial law, AMAPCEO will explain the exclusion transparently and consult with the customer to establish an alternate method of providing the goods, services, or facilities safely. 

Support persons

• Simultaneous access: Any person with a disability who is accompanied by a support person will be allowed to have that person accompany them at all times on our premises. No fee or fare will ever be charged for a support person accessing AMAPCEO spaces or events. 
• Mandatory accompaniment: AMAPCEO will only require a person with a disability to be accompanied by a support person for health or safety reasons after consulting with the individual to understand their needs, evaluating objective evidence of risk, and determining that no other reasonable way exists to protect the safety of the individual or others on the premises. 

Notice of temporary disruption

• Prompt notification: In the event of a planned or unexpected disruption to services or facilities that customers with disabilities rely upon (including reception seating, washrooms, elevators, online services, or telephone systems), AMAPCEO will post a clear, prompt public notice. 
• Required content: The notice will include detailed information regarding the reason for the disruption, its anticipated duration, and a description of alternative facilities or services if they are available. 
• Posting channels: Notices will be physically posted at the precise location of the disruption, featured on the AMAPCEO website, and, where appropriate, communicated directly via email or telephone. 

Feedback process

• Accessible submission: AMAPCEO welcomes feedback on how we provide accessible service. Feedback can be submitted in person at our office, or via telephone, email, fax, or mailed letter directed to the Chief Operating Officer. Customers can expect a formal response within thirty (30) business days. 
• Standardized accommodations: To ensure our feedback process is accessible to people with disabilities, AMAPCEO will actively provide or arrange for accessible formats and communication supports upon request. To guarantee compliance during a Ministry audit, AMAPCEO formally maintains the capability to provide the following standardized options: 
  • Digital formatting: Screen-reader optimized electronic formats, including fully tagged PDFs or clean HTML text. 
  • Large print: Document conversions into a minimum 18-point sans-serif font layout. 
  • Transcription: Verbal-to-text dictation services executed securely by designated staff for phone-in or in-person feedback submissions. 

Design of public spaces

• Exclusion declaration: AMAPCEO does not own, newly construct, or redevelop public off-street parking facilities, exterior paths of travel, or public-facing service counters and waiting areas. Formal audit inquiries concerning these structural elements are responded to as "Not Applicable". 
• Future redevelopment: Should AMAPCEO engage in the physical redevelopment of its internal reception spaces or lease boundaries at 1 Dundas Street West, Suite 2310, all projects shall comply strictly with the Accessibility Standards for the Design of Public Spaces under the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation. 

Employment practices

• Recruitment and job postings: AMAPCEO notifies employees, job applicants, and the public that accommodations are fully available during recruitment and hiring. This mandate is achieved by placing an explicit accessibility notice directly underneath every digital job posting and within the text of the job advertisement itself, directing applicants to contact HR directly to arrange suitable adjustments. 
• Assessments and interview invitations: When job applicants are individually selected to participate in an assessment or selection process, AMAPCEO formally notifies them that accommodations are available upon request. This notification is embedded within all standardized written interview invitation templates and verbal scheduling communications. AMAPCEO will consult with applicants directly to arrange suitable, customized accommodation layouts. 
• Offers of employment: When making formal offers of employment, AMAPCEO explicitly includes notification of our internal employee accommodation policies directly within our standard offer letter templates and employment contracts. 
• Ongoing staff supports: AMAPCEO notifies staff that disability supports are available as soon as practicable after they begin employment, typically during their orientation session within the first 30 days. Updated information is provided to employees whenever a change occurs to existing job accommodation policies. 
• Individualized Accommodation Plans (IAPs): AMAPCEO maintains a formalized, written process to develop documented Individual Accommodation Plans for employees with disabilities. We also maintain a structured, written return-to-work process for employees who have been absent from work due to a disability and require disability-related accommodations to safely reintegrate into operations. Our performance management, career development, and redeployment processes take into account the complete accessibility needs of all employees. 
• Workplace emergency response: Where needed, AMAPCEO will provide customized, individualized workplace emergency information to help an employee with a disability during an emergency. With the employee's consent, this workplace emergency information will be shared immediately with the designated safety warden or person tasked with providing evacuation assistance. These individualized emergency plans are formally reviewed when the employee moves to a different physical location in the organization, when their overall accommodation needs are evaluated, or when the employer reviews its general emergency response policies.