Cabinet Office Accessibility Plan 2003-04

Introduction

In 2001, there were an estimated 1.5 million people in Ontario with self-disclosed disabilities. This number is expected to increase as the population ages.

In December 2001, the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001 (ODA) was passed into law. Its purpose is to improve opportunities for people with disabilities and to provide for their involvement in the identification, removal and prevention of barriers to their full participation in the life of the province.

One of the requirements under the ODA is that Ontario government ministries, municipalities, hospitals, school boards, colleges, universities, and public transportation organizations develop annual accessibility plans to make programs, services and buildings more accessible to people with disabilities. The plans must be made available to the public.

In the Speech from the Throne, delivered on November 20, 2003, the Ontario Government confirmed its commitment to working with Ontarians with disabilities on meaningful legislation that will allow them to fully participate in building a stronger province.

This document is the first annual accessibility plan for Cabinet Office. The plan describes improvements to accessibility that Cabinet Office has made to date and its commitments for the balance of the 2003-2004 fiscal year.

Report on Achievements

Cabinet Office supports the Premier, Cabinet, and its committees in the management and implementation of the government's priorities. Cabinet Office also provides communications services to the public but does not provide a range of programs and services like ministries do.

In 2003, Cabinet Office established an Accessibility Planning Group to recommend strategies for the identification, removal and prevention of barriers in compliance with the ministry's requirements under the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001.

Information

The Throne Speech is one of the government's most important policy documents. It outlines the government's overall agenda for the session it inaugurates. For a number of years now, a copy of the document has been provided to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) on the day the Speech is delivered, so that it can be made accessible to individuals with visual impairment. In 2003, in addition, the Throne Speech was available as a video and audio file on the Premier's website well suited for people with low vision and for people using assistive technology. Cabinet Office has worked with Publications Ontario to meet the requirements of the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001 in disseminating Throne Speeches.

To further enhance the accessibility of the Premier's website, it was redesigned and upgraded by Cabinet Office Corporate Communications to meet many of the checkpoints of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, and has served as a model for other sites implementing accessible solutions. Additional features taken from best practices in the disability community were also implemented.

Among its new features, the new Premier's website includes:

easy-to-read double-spaced lines and simple fonts and pictures for easy and intuitive understanding of all pages;
printer-friendly pages to assist in the saving and copying of online documents;
descriptive coding tags for more detailed information for users who are blind or who have visual impairments or low vision;
small and fast-loading pages for those using older or rural Internet connections; and
coding to allow the new site to work correctly with old web browsers and outdated technology.

The Premier's Kid Zone website was similarly upgraded by Corporate Communications to meet many of the above checkpoints and includes the same features where applicable.

In addition, Corporate Communications hosted a Case Study and Discussion group to share knowledge and best practices about web-related accessibility. It also designed new software for use on government Internet sites to improve accessibility and access, including a bilingual language switching script specifically for the Ontario government.

The Centre for Leadership (CFL) modified the OntarioDelivers intranet site in December 2002 to improve accessibility in the following ways:

ensuring basic features of the site are directly accessible or compatible with assistive technologies;
incorporating equivalents for non-text content such as images, graphic content and animations;
information in both colour and black and white;
use of clearest and simplest language;
dividing large blocks of text into smaller blocks where possible, and
standardizing layout and presentation.

Cabinet Office provides Teletypewriter device (TTY) access to accommodate individuals requesting information who are deaf, deafened and hard of hearing.

Employment

As an employer within the Ontario Public Service, Cabinet Office has fully complied with Management Board Secretariat's Human Resources Policies and Guidelines, and has been guided by the Ontario Human Rights Code requirements. Cabinet Office provides ongoing services to review, assess and complete all ergonomic requests for its employees.
Performance Management

Cabinet Office led the development of key corporate goals for all ministries, which included meeting the requirements of the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001. This corporate goal has been reflected as part of 2003/04 Senior Management Performance Plans.

Training

All Cabinet Office managers have completed the Ontarians with Disabilities Act computer-based training provided by the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario. Furthermore, the Centre for Leadership has ensured that senior executive training and development activity, both on- and off-site, takes place in accessible venues. The needs of training participants with disabilities are taken into account within the regular training administration process.

Facilities

Cabinet Office is the major tenant of Whitney Block. In terms of its facilities (Whitney Block), Cabinet Office provides clear corridor, washroom stalls and doorway accessibility for wheelchair entry within the Whitney Block that conforms to the Ontario Building Code requirements. More specifically, it has installed a lever door handle that facilitated access to a program area.

Cabinet Office has established a Whitney Block User Committee, which includes representatives of Whitney Block tenants and building management. One of the User Committee's roles is to collaboratively identify and consider barriers in the building and to negotiate building accessibility improvements with the Ontario Realty Corporation (ORC) and SNC Lavalin ProFac Facilities Management.

Commitments and Strategies for 2003-2004

Methods to be taken to prevent new barriers

Cabinet Office will continue to address prevention of new barriers through its Accessibility Planning Group and the Whitney Block User Committee. The Accessibility Planning Group will meet regularly to monitor the implementation of the Plan and to plan further improvements.

Business areas to be reviewed

Operational Policies, Practices and Services

Cabinet Office will commit to a review of its recruitment process, to ensure that accessibility is an integral part at all points in that process.

Actions to be taken

Barrier identification and prevention

The Cabinet Office Accessibility Planning Group will identify barriers through the Accessibility Plan's implementation process, will monitor implementation of this plan throughout the coming year, and will provide quarterly reports to the Chief Administrative Officer and to senior management and updates to ministry staff. We will continue to consult with the Accessibility Directorate on implementation of Cabinet Office's Accessibility Plan, and on the preparation of the 2004-2005 Plan, as required under section 10 of the ODA.

Improved accessibility in communications

Publications Ontario acts as the corporate co-ordinator for alternate format document requests, working in co-operation with the customer and the ministry responsible for the document to fulfill customer needs. Cabinet Office will continue to work with Publications Ontario to meet the requirements of the Ontarians with Disabilities Act in the dissemination of its publications. Staff involved in responding to requests for publications in accessible formats will be provided with guidance on the procedures for doing so.

Cabinet Office will ensure that the staff responsible for operating TTY equipment are adequately trained.

Improved accessibility of facilities

Cabinet Office, in collaboration with other tenants in the Whitney Block User Committee, will develop a process to jointly review and prioritize the removal of barriers with the Ontario Realty Corporation, the building's owner.

Cabinet Office will develop plans to assist with the evacuation of staff and visitors with disabilities, and to ensure that the plans are reflected in the Emergency Procedures handbook distributed to all staff.

Improved accessibility in technology

As the Premier's website continues to grow and develop, Cabinet Office will ensure that accessibility for people with disabilities continues to be addressed during development and through ongoing testing. Cabinet Office will continue to research new and innovative ways to create accessible print, audio and visual content for distribution on Internet websites.

The Centre for Leadership OPS intranet websites will be redeveloped and positioned to support continuous improvement in accessibility.

Improved accessibility in practices

See above actions to be taken on improved accessibility in communications, facilities and technology.

Improved accessibility in internal policies

Cabinet Office will comply with Management Board Secretariat's Procurement Directives and monitor implementation. To facilitate that compliance, Cabinet Office will distribute any additional Management Board Secretariat guidelines on procurement to all managers and supervisors, as well as to staff with responsibility for procurement.

For more information

Questions or comments about the ministry's accessibility plan are always welcome. Please contact:

Office of the Chief Administrative Officer
Room 3540, Whitney Block
99 Wellesley Street West
Toronto, Ontario M7A 1A1

Telephone: (416) 212-0781
TTY number: (416) 314-5721
E-mail: odapublicinquiries@cab.gov.on.ca

Visit the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration's Accessibility Ontario web portal at: www.gov.on.ca/citizenship/accessibility. The site promotes accessibility and provides information and resources on how to make Ontario a barrier-free province.

Alternate formats of this document are available free upon request from:

Publications Ontario
880 Bay Street, Toronto, ON M7A 1N8
Tel: (416) 326-5300
Out of town customers except Ottawa call: 1-800-668-9938
In Ottawa, call (613) 238-3630 or toll-free 1-800-268-8758
TTY Service 1-800-268-7095

ISSN 1708-4903 print version
ISSN 1708-4911 online version

Ce document est disponsible en français.