On June 13, 2005, the Ontario legislature passed the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (“AODA”). Under the AODA, the Government of Ontario is developing mandatory “accessibility standards” to identify, remove and prevent barriers for people with disabilities in the following key areas of daily living:

1. Customer Service;
2. Built Environment (which may include buildings, parking and entrances);
3. Employment;
4. Information and Communications; and
5. Transportation.

The above accessibility standards will determine what businesses and organizations in Ontario must do to break down and prevent barriers for people with disabilities. The accessibility standard for customer service under the AODA came into force on January 1, 2008 and applies to all organizations and businesses in Ontario with at least one employee. This standard states what businesses and other organizations in Ontario must do to make the provision of their goods and services more accessible to people with disabilities states what businesses and other organizations in Ontario must do to make the provision of their goods and services more accessible to people with disabilities. Public sector organizations are to comply with this standard by January 1, 2010, and private businesses, non-profit organizations, and any other service provider with at least one employee must comply with this standard by January 1, 2012.

Under the customer service standard, Ontario businesses and other affected organizations are required to, among other things:

1. establish policies, practices and procedures on providing goods or services to people with disabilities;
2. use reasonable efforts to ensure that an organization’s policies, practices and procedures are consistent with the core principles of independence, dignity, integration and equality of opportunity;
3. have a policy about the use of assistive devices;
4. communicate with a person with a disability in a manner that takes into account his or her disability;
5. let people with disabilities bring their service animals on to the parts of the premises open to the public or other third parties except where the animal is otherwise excluded by law (for example, a restaurant kitchen);
6. let people with disabilities bring their support persons with them when accessing goods or services on parts of the premises open to the public or other third parties;
7. if the organization charges an admission fee, let people know ahead of time what, if any, admission will be charged for a support person;
8. let the public know when facilities or services that people with disabilities usually use to access their goods and services are temporarily not available;
9. ensure that certain staff receive training on how to serve people with disabilities; and
10. set up a process to receive and respond to feedback, including what action will be taken on any complaints.

In addition to the above requirements, businesses and other service providers with twenty or more employees must, among other things: prepare written policies, practices and procedures for providing accessible customer service; notify customers that documents required under the customer service standard are available on request; and, provide documents required under the customer service standard in a format that takes into account a person’s disability. Also, organizations with twenty or more employees will be required to file "accessibility reports" while those with fewer than twenty employees are exempt from this requirement. The reports are expected to be in a simple checklist format and to be filed on-line.

Accordingly, while common sense would have dictated that businesses implement many of the above steps in recognition of the special needs of persons with disabilities, it is now a legal requirement to do so. Businesses should review with their legal advisors their existing practices and policies regarding serving people with disabilities to determine what changes may be necessary to comply with the above requirements. For organizations that currently do not have written policies in place, a good starting point is the customer service policy template contained in the compliance manual for the customer service standard. The manual is available at www.AccessON.ca, a web site set up by the Ministry of Community and Social Services to educate Ontarians about the AODA.

The other standards under the AODA will be implemented over time and are posted on the Ministry of Community and Social Services’ website for public review and input. Businesses and other affected organizations are encouraged to review the proposed standards during the public review period and to submit their comments and concerns by the applicable deadline.

Jim Sahdra
Business Law Group
Tel: 905.276.0423
E-mail: jsahdra@kmblaw.com

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