| Welcome to the website of the Accessibility Advisory Committee
... In existence since 2002, our Committee advises and assists City
Council and its affiliated City Agencies and Boards and Commissions in
promoting and facilitating a barrier-free London for citizens of all
abilities, including persons with disabilities.
Our role in helping foster a community approach to accessibility and inclusion includes the review of municipal policies, programs and services and the
identification, removal and prevention of barriers faced by persons with
disabilities. To learn more about our initiatives and accomplishments
please visit Our Activities page.
On this page, you'll find
News and events
as well as
Accessibility spotlight
- an information feature
that highlights London facilities that have incorporated innovative accessibility features.
We hope this website is helpful and please feel free to
contact
us at any time or to join one of our meetings. Our members
generally met on the 4th Thursday of each month
(except July and December)from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. These meetings are held in one of the Committee Rooms
located on the 2nd floor of City Hall. Note: the room used is set up to
accommodate wheelchairs/scooters.
The Accessibility
Advisory Committee has six working subcommittees: Policy Development,
Communications, Transportation,
Facilities & Public Works, Non-visible Disabilities and Education & Awareness. These
subcommittees meet once a month, also at City Hall. These meetings, too, are
open to the public.
Please call 519 661-4500 ext. 0835 or TTY 519 661-4889 for
agenda information or to confirm meeting dates and times.
How can we help you?
The Accessibility Advisory Committee wants to hear from you. Please let us
know what barriers you face when accessing City of London services, programs or
facilities. You can send us an e-mail , call 519 661-2500 ext. 5475 or use the TTY line 519 661-4889.
News and events
Accessible Customer Service Policy &
Training
Ontario’s first accessibility standard, the Accessibility Standards
for Customer Service, came into effect on January 1, 2008.
Established under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities
Act, 2005 (the “AODA”), the standard states what organizations in
Ontario must do to make their goods and services more accessible to
people with disabilities. Visit the City of London website for more
information about the
Accessible Customer Service Policy approved by Council to ensure
municipal goods and services are provided in a way that respects the
dignity, independence, integration and equal opportunity for all
people. All City of London employees are receiving training on
providing accessible customer service - part of this training
involves a video that was developed with the assistance of the
Accessibility Advisory Committee. The training video can be accessed
from the Accessible Customer Service Policy page. The City welcomes
customer service feedback
(pdf form) on its delivery of accessible
services.
Non-visible disabilities survey
Please take the opportunity to participate in the Advisory
Committee's online survey. This is the first of two surveys to
gather preliminary data on "non visible disabilities" and how they
are experienced in day-to-day interaction with service providers and
merchants. The initial
Non-visible disabilities survey is designed to engage people at
the service level. The second survey will invite responses from
people with disabilities.
Now available - updated
Facility Assessment Form
Using the Facility Assessment Form, it is easy to conduct an assessment of
your workplace. The latest version of this step-by-step guide is available
in the Information & Resources section of our
website as a pdf and Word document.
2009 Accessibility Plan
The City of London's
2009 Accessibility Plan is available on www.london.ca as a Word and pdf
document. This plan is developed annually by The City of London ODA Staff
Resource Group in partnership with The City of London Accessibility Advisory
Committee.
Accessibility
Spotlight
Did you know? Silver City Theatre at Masonville has technology to enhance enjoyment for the
blind and visually impaired and the deaf and hard of hearing. Rear
Window® Captioning System displays reversed captions on a LED text
display which is mounted in the rear of the theater. Deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons use transparent acrylic panels attached to their
seats to reflect the captions so they appear superimposed on the
movie screen. The reflective panels are portable and adjustable,
enabling the caption user to sit anywhere in the theater. DVS
Theatrical ® delivers descriptive narration via infra red or FM
listening systems enabling blind and visually impaired moviegoers
to hear the information about key visual elements of the film such as settings, scene changes,
facial expressions and costumes. Visit the
MoPix®
(Motion Picture Access) website for a listing of current movies with these features.
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Members
Appointed by Council, the following Advisory Committee members
complete their four-year term of office December 1, 2010.
Voting members
Roger Khouri (Chair)
Bonnie Quesnel (Vice Chair)
Mark Anderson
Kathleen Higgins
Ashfaq (Kash) Husain
Angela McGonigal
Jeffrey Preston
Avril Rinn
Anne Robertson
Brenda Ryan
Peggy Stewart
Andrew Tankus
Nathan Welch
Non-voting resource members
Dean Astolfi, Western Ontario Therapeutic Community Hostel (WOTCH)
Sarah Doub, Thames Valley District School
Tamara Nugent, London Catholic District School Board
Jean Knight, Council for London Seniors
Naeem Qureshi, Architectural Sector
Stephanie Sams, Ability Awareness Training
Ryan Sanders, Ontarians with Disabilities Act
Deb Wilson-MacLeod - Partners In Employment
The following opportunity
is currently open for non-voting resources
members:
- Health Care or Wellness Practitioner
The committee also has
the resource assistance of City staff from a wide cross-section
of a Departments & Divisions. Staff work with the committee on a
regular and "as needed" basis.
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