Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)
This website is dedicated to information sharing for the King’s community with regards to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).
Please note that government nomenclature includes terminology such as "customer" and "goods", as is evident in the wording of their legislation. Consistent with the culture of an educational institution, King's interprets these terms as follows: a) "customer": an all-encompassing term referring to anyone with whom we have contact (i.e. students, parents, faculty, staff, visitors, contractors, each other, etc.); and b) "goods": any type of provision from education to food services. The use of these terms in any of the documents relating to the AODA is in no way intended to diminish the educational values of the College.
Introduction
The purpose of this Act is to ensure that, by the year 2025, the Province of Ontario is totally accessible and barrier free for persons with disabilities. Towards this end, five different accessibility standards, dealing with several key areas, have been developed by the Province of Ontario under the AODA. The first one of these to become law is the Customer Service Standard and it requires public sector organizations to meet certain requirements as of January, 2010. The other four standards are at different stages of development and are not yet law. They are: Transportation, Information and Communication, Employment and Built Environment.
King’s commitment to offer quality service to each member of the community and to always provide service in a way that respects the dignity and independence of people with disabilities is aligned with its mission, vision and values. The College is committed to open communication and to ensuring that persons with disabilities have an equal opportunity access.
In order to meet the requirements of this Standard, King’s leaders and staff are accountable to complete an accessibility learning program and then to review unit practices and procedures to ensure compliance. Accountabilities of all employees will be addressed through the learning sessions. In addition, other Standard requirements are being addressed by the King’s Accessibility Committee.
Under Section 6(1) of the AODA Customer Service Standard (Ontario Regulation 429/07), training is required as follows:
Customer Service Standard
6. (1) "Every provider of goods or services shall ensure that the following persons receive training about the provision of its goods or services to persons with disabilities:
- Every person who deals with members of the public or other third parties on behalf of the provider, whether the person does so as an employee, agent, volunteer or otherwise.
- Every person who participates in developing the provider’s policies, practices and procedures governing the provision of goods or services to members of the public or other third parties"
On this site you will find detailed information pertaining to the Customer Service Standard: requirements, including: King’s policies and guidelines, support services, accessibility maps and floor plans, service disruption information, feedback information, training information, and relevant links.