AODA — Providing Goods, Services or Facilities to People with Disabilities
| Applies to: Everyone | Topic Owner: The People Team | Last Updated: 05.2023 |
Newtopia believes in integration and equal opportunity and is committed to treating all people in a way that allows them to maintain their dignity and independence. We’re committed to making every reasonable effort to meet the needs of persons with disabilities up to Undue Hardship. This means identifying, removing, and preventing barriers to accessibility and meeting accessibility standards in accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and meeting our current and ongoing obligations under the Ontario Human Rights Code respecting non-discrimination.
Newtopia understands that obligations under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) and its accessibility standards do not substitute or limit its obligations under the Ontario Human Rights Code or obligations to people with disabilities under any other law.
Newtopia is committed to complying with both the Ontario Human Rights Code and the AODA.
Newtopia is committed to excellence in serving all employees, contractors and visitors including people with disabilities.
Newtopia’s goal is to focus on identifying, removing, and preventing barriers for people with disabilities.
Newtopia will meet the information and communication needs of people with disabilities by providing, upon request, information, and communications materials in accessible formats or with communication supports.
Four Guiding Principles
Our accessible employee and customer service policies are consistent with the principles of independence, dignity, integration, and equality of opportunity for people with disabilities.
Dignity: ensure people with disabilities are provided with services in a manner that will allow them to maintain self-respect and the respect of others.
Independence: ensure people with disabilities have the right to work on their own and are able to do things in their own way.
Integration: ensure persons with disabilities fully benefit from the same goods and services, in the same place and in the same or similar manner as others. This may require alternative formats and flexible approaches. It means complete and full participation.
Equal Opportunity: ensure persons with disabilities have the same chances, options, benefits, and results as others.
Procedures and Responsibilities
Newtopia is committed to using reasonable efforts in providing goods and services to all customers including people with disabilities. We will carry out our functions and responsibilities in the following areas:
Assistive Devices
People with disabilities may use their personal assistive devices when accessing our goods, services, or facilities. We will ensure that employees are aware of and become familiar with various assistive devices that may be used while accessing our goods and/or services.
In cases where the assistive device presents a significant and unavoidable health or safety concern or may not be permitted for other reasons, other measures will be used to ensure the person with a disability can access our goods, services, or facilities.
Communication
We will communicate with people with disabilities in ways that take into account their disability.
We will work with the person with a disability to determine what method of communication works for them. Newtopia is committed to ensuring that our employees are fully aware of how to interact and communicate with people with disabilities. We will train our employees who communicate with customers, including but not limited to our Inspirators and Care Specialists, management and external stakeholders, and partners on how to interact and communicate with people with various types of disabilities.
Service Animals
We welcome people with disabilities and their service animals.
When we cannot easily identify that an animal is a service animal, our staff may ask a person to provide documentation (template, letter or form) from a regulated health professional that confirms the person needs the service animal for reasons relating to their disability.
If service animals are prohibited by another law, we will do the following to ensure people with disabilities can access our goods, services, or facilities:
- Explain why the animal is excluded
- Discuss with the customer another way of providing goods, services or facilities.
Newtopia will also ensure that our employees are trained on how to interact with customers with disabilities who are accompanied by a service animal.
Support Persons
A person with a disability who is accompanied by a support person will be allowed to have that person accompany them on our premises. At no time will people with disabilities who are accompanied by a support person be prevented from having access to that person while on our premises.
Training
Newtopia will provide training to all Care Team employees on AODA requirements. Training will include, but not be limited to, sensitivity training, accessible customer service, Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation and Human Rights.
Training will be provided to employees upon this policy taking effect and upon amendments to the policy. New employees will be provided such training as part of their orientation. Documentation of the training of employees shall be maintained by the People Team.
Notice of Temporary Disruption
- We will provide visitors with notice in the event of a planned or unexpected temporary disruption in our services usually used by people with disabilities. We will provide information about the reason for the disruption, its anticipated duration, and a description of alternative facilities, services or systems that may be available.
- Notice will be given by posting the information in a visible place on premises owned or operated by the provider of goods and/or services.
- In the event that an unexpected disruption occurs, notice will be given as soon as possible.
Feedback Process
We encourage anyone who encounters any problems, malfunctions, or deficiencies to report them to their immediate supervisor or the People Team.
Anyone who wishes to provide feedback on the way Newtopia provides goods, services, or facilities to people with disabilities can provide feedback in the following way(s):
By email to accessibility@newtopia.com
By telephone at 416-223-1400
By mail at 33 Bloor Street East, 5th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M4W 3H1
Newtopia will make sure our feedback process is accessible to people with disabilities by providing or arranging for accessible formats and communication supports, on request.
Newtopia is committed to ensuring that its policies, practices, and procedures are consistent with and promote the core principles of dignity, independence, integration, and equal opportunity. Any Newtopia policy that does not respect and promote the dignity and independence of persons with disabilities will be modified or removed.