AODA Alliance
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance Update
United for a Barrier-Free Society for All People with Disabilities
Web: www.aodaalliance.org Email: aodafeedback@gmail.com
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Apply to Serve on New Ontario Customer Service Standards Development Committee – and – 20 Years Ago Today, A History-Making Letter
April 7, 2023
SUMMARY
1. Opportunity to Apply to Serve on the Government-Appointed Customer Service Standards Development Committee
On April 6, 2023, the Ontario Government announced that from now to April 19, 2023, members of the public can apply to serve on the new Customer Service Standards Development Committee to be appointed under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. Below you can read that announcement. We have been advocating for this to take place for over a year and a half.
What is this all about, you ask? Right after the AODA was passed in 2005, the Ontario Government appointed the very first Standards Development Committee, the Customer Service Standards Development Committee. Its job was to recommend what should be included in an AODA accessibility standard to spell out what organizations must do to provide accessible customer service.
After that first Customer Service Standards Development Committee finished its work, the Government enacted the 2007 Customer Service Accessibility Standard. It was the first accessibility standard ever to be enacted under the AODA. It was very weak and limited. It was also very poorly enforced. We have campaigned ever since then to get it effectively enforced and to get its requirements strengthened.
Under Section 9 of the AODA, once an accessibility standard has been on the books for five years, the Government must arrange to have it independently reviewed. The AODA requires the Government to appoint a new Standards Development Committee to review that accessibility standard, in order to see if it needs to be strengthened.
The previous Government was therefore required to appoint a new Customer Service Standards Development Committee by 2012. Its job would be to review the 2007 Customer Service Accessibility Standard. The Ontario Government did so, but not until 2013, one year later than the law required.
That second Customer Service Standards Development Committee made some minor recommendations to improve the 2007 Customer Service Accessibility Standard, but not all the recommendations were implemented.
In June 2016, the previous Government revised the Customer Service Accessibility Standard. Those revisions were minor. The revisions did not significantly improve it.
As the next stage in this process, the AODA required the Government to appoint a new Customer Service Standards Development Committee by June 2021, five years after the 2016 revisions were enacted. It did not do so by that clear deadline.
We have been pressing the Government to appoint this Standards Development Committee. Finally, yesterday, the Government announced its intent to appoint this new Standards Development Committee and invited people to apply to serve on it.
It is good that this announcement has at last taken place. The Government has promised to lead by example when it comes to the AODA. Meeting the AODA’s deadlines is always important for all obligated organizations.
It is also good that the Government has now resumed its prior practice of inviting members of the public to apply to serve on an AODA Standards Development Committee. That was its usual practice until last year. Last year the Government appointed the Design of Public Spaces Standards Development Committee without holding a public application process. We have been critical of the Government’s failure to hold an open competition for spots on that important Standards Development Committee. The Government has never explained why it held no open competition.
Any number of people who wanted to apply to serve on the Design of Public Spaces Standards Development Committee were prevented from being able to do so, including AODA Alliance Chair David Lepofsky. AODA Alliance Chair David Lepofsky will be applying on the AODA Alliance’s behalf to serve on the new Customer Service Standards Development Committee
The Government’s announcement says that this Standards Development Committee is expected to complete its work in one year. We expect it will take longer. Previous Standards Development Committees have taken two or three years to finish their work.
To learn about the barriers that people with disabilities continue to face when trying to enjoy customer service in Ontario, and about the recommendations that the AODA Alliance has presented in the past to achieve accessible customer service in Ontario, visit the AODA Alliance website’s customer service page.
2. An Historic Event Two Decades Ago Today
Twenty years ago today, on April 7, 2003, Ontario Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty, then the leader of Ontario’s Official Opposition, sent an all-important letter. It was addressed to the Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee, the AODA Alliance’s predecessor coalition. In that letter, Dalton McGuinty promised that if the Liberals were elected in the October 2003 provincial election, they would pass an Ontario disability accessibility law that fulfilled the 11 principles that the Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee had formulated to make that legislation strong and effective.
In October 2003, fie months later, Dalton McGuinty won a majority government. One year later, his Government introduced the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act into the Legislature for First Reading. On May 10, 2005, the AODA was unanimously passed.
What a difference a letter makes! For a moment of nostalgia, read the April 7, 2003 letter from Ontario Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty to David Lepofsky, then chair of the Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee
For the history of the grass roots fight from 1994 that led up to that letter, visit the legacy Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee website.
MORE DETAILS
April 6, 2923 Broadcast Ontario Government Email Announcing Application Process for Customer Service Standards Development Committee
On Behalf of ADM Sikand
=====
Hello,
I am pleased to inform you that the Minister for Seniors and Accessibility is now recruiting Ontarians, with expertise in accessible customer service and with lived experience of disability, to participate in the AODA Customer Service Standards Development Committee (the committee). The committee will be responsible for reviewing current accessibility requirements related to customer service under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA).
The review of the Customer Service Standards is set to launch its work in spring 2023 and run for 12 months.
As former Standards Development Committee members, please feel free to share and amplify this campaign to your networks, or to apply for membership if interested in participating. To apply for membership on the Customer Service Standards Development Committee, please email CSSDCrecruitment@ontario.ca by April 19, 2023. Attach your resume or a short description of yourself, including relevant experience or expertise in accessible customer service and lived experience of disability.
The Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accessibility accommodations are available upon request for candidates taking part in the application and selection process.
For more information on qualifications for membership and the time commitment required, as well as remuneration, please visit the job description posted at
English:
https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/3529595517
French:
https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/3551195320
For any additional information, please feel free to reach out to us by email at
Thank you,
Meenu Sikand
Assistant Deputy Minister
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Division
Ministry for Seniors & Accessibility
LinkedIn Posting of Job Description for Member of Customer Service Standards Development
Originally posted at https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/3529595517/
Committee Seniors and Accessibility | Services
Committee Member, Customer Service Standards Development Committee
About the job
Position: Committee Member, Customer Service Standards Development Committee
Do you have experience with accessibility and customer service? Got great ideas for how to ensure people with diverse abilities are welcomed and included in Ontario businesses? Ontario needs you to share your expertise and experience to help improve Ontario’s standards for accessible customer service.
The Minister for Seniors and Accessibility is looking for Ontarians with expertise in accessible customer service and lived experiences with disabilities to participate in the Customer Service Standards Development Committee, responsible for reviewing current accessibility requirements related to customer service.
The review of the Customer Service Standards is anticipated to launch in spring 2023 and run for approximately 12 months.
About the committee:
Under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, Standards Development Committees are responsible for developing and reviewing accessibility standards, in order to advise the government on potential changes. This process empowers people with disabilities and obligated organizations to work together to identify barriers to accessibility and make detailed policy recommendations to government.
The Customer Service Standards Development Committee will be responsible for reviewing existing requirements established in the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (IASR) related to customer service and assess if changes are also needed to the IASR General Requirements.
The Customer Service Standards apply to all sectors that provide goods, services, or facilities to the public. The standards set requirements that address accessible customer service policies, service animals, support persons, feedback process and employee training. This has a significant day-to-day impact on both the regulated community and the lives of people with disabilities.
The IASR also contains General Requirements that set similar requirements for accessibility policies and training, as well as other requirements regarding self-service kiosks, accessibility plans and procurement.
Standards Development Committees include at least 50% persons with disabilities, or their representatives, as well as the industries or sectors impacted by the Standards.
Committee members are invited to participate by the Minister for Seniors and Accessibility.
Qualifications:
Strong knowledge of accessibility for persons with disabilities related to customer service, including relevant lived experience
Familiarity with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 and its accessibility standards
Experience with identifying, preventing, and removing barriers for persons with disabilities
Knowledge in business, retail and other customer service-related industries, both private and public sector
Ability to bring expert lived experience and/or expertise perspectives to committee discussions
Adept in consensus-building, problem-solving and communicating with a diverse group of stakeholders in a committee or board setting
Time Commitment:
Members will meet virtually for one to two, three-hour meetings every three to four weeks for approximately twelve months.
Additional time between meetings to review materials will be required.
All committee meetings will be accessible to members with disabilities. Members will be asked to identify accessibility supports required, without disclosure of disability or nature of disability to the Ministry to support participation in meetings.
Committee members are required to fulfill the duties of their appointment in a professional, ethical and competent manner and avoid any real or perceived conflict of interest.
Remuneration:
At the Minister’s discretion, members may receive a per diem of up to: $200 per day or $100 per half-day (3 hours or less) when attending meetings, and $200 per day or $200 per half-day for preparation between meetings.
Closing Date:
The closing date for applications is April 19, 2023 by 11:59 pm.
We thank you for your interest. Applications will be reviewed as they are received. Only those selected for further screening or an interview will be contacted.
How to Apply:
To apply for membership on the Customer Service Standards Development Committee, please email CSSDCrecruitment@ontario.ca.
Attach your résumé or a short description of yourself, including relevant experience or expertise in accessible customer service and lived experience of disability.
Remember: The deadline to apply is April 19, 2023 by 11:59 pm.
The Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the application and selection process.