Multi-Year Accessibility Plan

A message from Jeff Ruby, Founder and CEO

At Newtopia, we believe that each one of us is unique and we strive to create hyper-personalized experiences designed to be meaningful for each of our participants. Through the actions in this plan and by fostering a culture of empathy and respect, we are dedicated to creating an inclusive environment and committed to meeting the needs of our employees and participants with disabilities. We commit to remove and prevent barriers to accessibility by fulfilling our requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005.

Introduction

This 2022-2027 plan outlines the policies, achievements, and steps we are taking to meet these requirements and improve accessibility for people with disabilities. Through our commitment to this plan, we are playing an important role in shaping Ontario into an accessible province for all Ontarians.

We will review and update this plan at least once every five years.

We will train every person as soon as practicable after being hired and provide training as our policies change. We will maintain training records, including the names, dates and type of training provided.

Statement of Commitment

Newtopia is committed to meeting its current and ongoing obligations under the Ontario Human Rights Code respecting non-discrimination and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA).

Newtopia is committed to excellence in serving all employees, contractors and visitors including people with disabilities. Our accessible employee and customer service policies are consistent with the principles of independence, dignity, integration, and equality of opportunity for 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.

Strategies and Action Plan

Accessible Emergency Information

We will provide employees with disabilities individualized emergency response plans to assist them in the event of an emergency as soon as practicable. We will also ask all existing employees who work out of the Toronto office to inform the People Team if they require any special accommodations in the event of an emergency. With the employee’s consent, the information will be made available to the Staff Member assigned to assist to the employee in the event of an emergency. We will also provide public safety information to members of the public who access our facilities in an accessible format upon request.

Customer Service

Newtopia is committed to providing accessible customer service to people with disabilities. This means that we will provide goods and services to people with disabilities with the same quality and timeliness as others. We will work with people with disabilities to ensure that their needs are met in a manner that respects their dignity and independence.

Newtopia will undertake the following actions with respect to customer service:

All Newtopia employees and applicable personnel will be trained on accessible customer service by June 30, 2022
All new Newtopia employees and applicable personnel will receive training as soon as practicable after hire.
All existing employees and applicable personnel will be re-trained upon any changes to the customer service policy or procedures as soon as practicable.
Newtopia’s Accessibility policy, including the company’s statement of commitment, was reviewed, and updated in September 2021.
Newtopia will post our Accessibility policy on the company website by June 30, 2022.
We let customers know when accessible services are not available by phone or email.
We welcome feedback on our programs and services through our designated feedback channel and ensure that all feedback is reviewed by our senior leadership team and HR.
Our feedback process will be posted on the company website by June 30, 2022.
We welcome assistive devices, service animals and support persons in the workplace.
We report on our compliance and progress by filing an accessibility report as required by law. Our last compliance report was filed on September 14, 2021.
We consider a person’s disability when communicating with them and provide an accessible format upon request.
Our multi-year accessibility plan will be posted on the company website by June 30, 2022, and made available upon request in accessible formats.
Our multi-year accessibility plan will be reviewed once every 5 years, with the next scheduled review set for 2027.

Information and Communications

Information and clear and effective communication is important to us at Newtopia. Newtopia is committed to making our information and communications accessible to people with disabilities.

As such, we are committed to the following actions:

Newtopia has developed a feedback process established in multiple formats (phone, email, mail, etc.), which will be listed on the company website by June 30, 2022.
We consult with people requesting alternative formats of communications.
All employees and required personnel will be trained on the Integrated Accessibility Standard and Human Rights in support of AODA by June 30, 2022.
All new Newtopia employees and applicable personnel will receive training on the Integrated Accessibility Standard and Human Rights as soon as practicable after hire.
We will work towards meeting the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Level 2.0 AA by June 30, 2022.
Work towards ensuring our published web content is in an accessible format where possible

Employment

Newtopia is committed to fair, equitable and accessible employment practices. In order to demonstrate our commitment, we will:

Recruitment:

Review our recruitment processes and policies as required to ensure that they are fair and accessible to all
We do and will continue to advise job applicants through our job postings and recruitment communication that accommodations are available upon request.
Incorporate into offer letters that accommodations are available

Employment:

We will inform new employees and remind existing employees of our policies for supporting employees with disabilities
We will develop a workplace accommodation policy and return to work program designed to facilitate the integration of employees returning to work from illness or injury by June 30, 2022.
We will continue to provide accessible formats and communication supports for information needed to perform job duties and information generally available to employees in the workplace, upon request.
We will continue to consult with employees with disabilities to determine which accessible formats or communication supports they require.
We have developed and will continue to use an Individual Accommodation Plan guide and work with employees with disabilities on a plan that takes into account their individual needs. Individual Accommodation Plans will be documented and reviewed as required.
Take into account the accessibility needs of employees with disabilities during our performance management process.
Take into account accessibility needs of employees with disabilities when providing career and advancement opportunities.
Take into consideration the accessibility needs of employees with disabilities when redeploying them to other positions, so that their accommodation needs are continuing to be met.

Training

Newtopia is committed to providing training as required under Ontario’s accessibility laws and the Ontario Human Rights Code as it applies to people with disabilities.

All employees will be trained by June 30, 2022.
All new hires will be trained as soon as practicable after hire.
HR will maintain a record of training participants names, the training topic received and dates of completion.
Training will be provided in accessible formats that take into account the accessibility needs of a person with a disability.

Design of Public Spaces

Newtopia will meet accessibility laws when building or making major changes to public spaces are required by law. Relevant public spaces include service-related elements including waiting areas and front entrance.

We have also put procedures in place to prevent service disruptions to the accessible parts of our public spaces.

Newtopia does not have specific requirements under the Transportation section at this time.

Contact Us

For more information on Newtopia’s accessibility plan, please contact:

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

Our accessibility plan is posted and accessible to the public at: www.newtopia.com

Requesting Accessible Formats

Standard and accessible formats of this document are available free upon request: