The first deadline for the Customer Service Standard is coming up rather quickly. That’s right, public sector organizations have 5 months left! Are your policies ready? Is your training plan in place? I’ve been following this act and standard for some time now and I recently came across some interesting information. In contrast to the human rights code, where you have to file a complaint before an audit takes place, the Ministry of Community and Social Services is forming and audit committee to proactively seek out any violations.

How do you feel about this approach? The government has received push back from members of the community saying it could not truly reach accessibility for all Ontarians by 2025 with the current act and accompanying standards. Is this a step towards ensuring accessibility?

It’s no surprise to anyone that in these economic times gaining that leading edge, if you will is essential for businesses to survive.  Does an accessibility plan provide this value add? Quite simply, no it doesn’t. The AODA requires all businesses to comply with the new standard. This equates to new policies, training and operational changes. If everyone is doing it then it doesn’t set you apart.

Accessibility is indeed a topic that must be addressed in Ontario (and the whole country for that matter) given the recent and upcoming demographic changes. But how do you stand out from the rest of the pack? It’s important to take these requirements a step further than bare minimum. As well, how much your company actually believes in these changes and is transparent is the absolute key to successful implementation.

What other benefits do you see in accessibility training for businesses?

Yes we’re back to this again. Will we have an accessible Ontario by 2025? That is a question that is up for debate so let’s have at it!  The answer is we don’t know yet. We do know that since the AODA became the law nearly four years ago only one of the five standards has been released.

I have been talking to many organizations that have to comply by the end of this year and the consensus is that the requirements are somewhat vague. The Guide to Accessibility Standards for Customer Service provided by the Ontario Government states that “the standard does not specify what reasonable efforts are because they may be different in each situation”. This lack of clarity is challenging and the fact that “barriers” are not defined also adds that “huh?” element. Clearly everything isn’t black and white but it seems the legislation leaves a lot up to the service provider. For instance the new feedback process is a huge step towards accessibility but the standard doesn’t outline who receives it and what should be done with it. Is anyone else getting the same impression?

We have a little over fifteen years and four more standards to plow through so it is hard to say if we will in fact reach our goal. Seems like plenty of time, but how many times have you said to yourself “time flies”?  Hopefully the next standards will roll out sooner than the Customer Service Standard.