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OTTAWA POLICE SERVICES BOARD COMMISSION DE SERVICES POLICIERS D’OTTAWA
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Working together for a safer community La sécurité de notre communauté, un travail d’équipe |
REPORT RAPPORT |
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DATE 12 December 2011
TO/DEST. Chair and Members, Ottawa Police Services Board
FROM/EXP. Policy & Governance Committee
SUBJECT/OBJET ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE POLICIES
RECOMMENDATION
That the Ottawa Police Services Board approve the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service Policy for the Board attached as Annex A and the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service Policy giving direction to the Chief of Police, attached as Annex B.
BACKGROUND
In 2005 the Provincial Government enacted the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), S.O. 2005. The Act is designed to develop, implement and enforce accessibility standards to achieve accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities with respect to goods, services, facilities, accommodation, employment, buildings, structures and premises on or before January 1, 2025.
In 2007, the Province enacted the “Accessibility Standards for Customer Service” Regulation, O Reg. 429/07, the first of five planned Standards to be issued to implement the AODA. Municipalities and other designated public sector organizations were required to be compliant with the new Regulation by January 1, 2010, and police services and police services boards by January 1, 2012. The Regulation establishes accessibility standards for customer service and applies to every designated public sector organization and to every other person or organization that provides goods or services to members of the public or other third parties, and that has at least one employee in Ontario.
The Policy & Governance (P&G) Committee met to review two draft policies on Accessibility Standards for Customer Service: one setting out requirements for the Board (attached as Annex A), and one setting out requirements for the Chief of Police with respect to the Police Service (Annex B). As employer, the Board is responsible for ensuring that its own members and staff are compliant with the legislation, as well as the members of the Police Service through providing direction to the Chief. For consistency, the Board policies are based on the City of Ottawa’s policy, which has been in place since January 1, 2010.
Training
Regulation O Reg. 429/07 requires that all employees, volunteers and contractors who deal with the public on behalf of the Ottawa Police Services Board or who are involved in board policy development shall receive training on accessible customer service. This requirement applies to members of the Board and its staff. As directed by the P&G Committee at its meeting, the Board’s policy specifically includes a requirement that all members of the Board shall be trained. It is recommended that Board members and staff utilize the training program developed and offered by the City. City Councillors and the Mayor have already received the one-hour compliance training provided by the City, and it is recommended that the community members on the Board as well as staff also take this training or an online version of it.
OPS Implementation of Policy
The OPS is a demonstrated leader in the area of accessibility and has been doing this work with the community since before the AODA became legislation. As a member of the City of Ottawa's Corporate Accessibility Working Group which contributed to and benefitted from the design of a corporate approach to the development of accessibility training modules, the OPS made a decision to train all staff on the customer service standard rather than just customer serving staff. Patrol officers were trained last year via a train the trainer approach, while an e-learning module is being delivered to all other staff, volunteers and consultants. A report on OPS compliance with the Regulation will be submitted to the Board in the New Year.
Next Steps
In June 2011 the Province enacted a second Regulation to support the AODA, called the “Integrated Accessibility Standards” Regulation, O Reg. 191/11. It addresses: Information and Communications Standards; Employment Standards; and Transportation Standards. Police services and boards are required to be compliant with the new regulation by January 1, 2015. Accordingly, amendments to the attached policies will be submitted to the Board for approval prior to the January 1, 2015 deadline.
CONSULTATION
In developing the policies, expertise and advice was sought from L. Berlinguette-Saumure, the City of Ottawa’s Corporate Accessibility Specialist, and her recommendations were incorporated into the policies attached to this report. Solicitor M. Steele in the City’s Legal Branch, who also specializes in the AODA, reviewed the policies and provided input.
The draft policies were also provided to OPS staff and to members of the City’s Accessibility Advisory Committee for review.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT
Implementation of the Board’s policy will have minimal financial impact. Many provisions are already in place and available to members of the public. The cost of complying with the Regulation for the Police Service is also minimal, as training for officers has been delivered during regular training days, using materials developed by the Province.
CONCLUSION
All persons or organizations that provide goods or services to the public, and that have at least one employee, are required to comply with the Accessibility Standards Regulation by January 1, 2012. This includes police services boards and police services. The two policies attached to this report have been modelled on the policy already in place at the City of Ottawa, which is compliant with the Regulation. Board approval and implementation of the policies are necessary in order to be compliant with Provincial legislation.
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Submitted by the Policy & Governance Committee:
Carl Nicholson, Chair
Adriana Doyle
Jim Durrell