Accessibility

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Statement of Organizational Commitment

The Municipality of South Huron is committed to ensuring equal access and participation for people with disabilities. We are committed to treating people with disabilities in a way that allows them to maintain their dignity and independence. We believe in integration and we are committed to meeting the needs of people with disabilities in a timely manner. We will do so by removing and preventing barriers to accessibility and meeting our accessibility requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (2005) and Ontario’s accessibility laws.

For information in alternative formats, please contact the Clerk by phone at 519-235-0310 or by email at clerk@southhuron.ca.

South Huron Accessibility

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)

The Province of Ontario released Provincial legislation called the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) in 2005.

The Municipality of South Huron must meet the requirements of accessibility standards including:

  • Customer Service;
  • Information and Communications;
  • Employment;
  • Transportation; and
  • Design of Public Spaces.

As part of the implementation of a multi-year accessibility plan, we are required to file Accessibility Compliance Reports with the Provincial Government.

South Huron's reports are available to the Public on request by contacting the Clerk by phone at 519-235-0310 or by email at clerk@southhuron.ca.

Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC)

The Municipality of South Huron is a member of the Huron County Accessibility Advisory Committee and the Huron County Accessibility Advisory Committee Working Group. In collaboration with the following municipalities Huron County's Accessibility Plan has been developed and adopted:

  • Municipality of South Huron
  • County of Huron
  • Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh
  • Municipality of Bluewater
  • Municipality of Central Huron
  • Town of Goderich
  • Township of Howick
  • Municipality of Huron East
  • Municipality of Morris-Turnberry
  • Township of North Huron

Strategies within the plan include:

  • Measures taken to identify, remove and prevent barriers to persons with disabilities;
  • Measures to ensure proposals for bylaws, programs, practices and services are considered for their effect on accessibility;
  • Creating a list of by-laws, policies, programs, practices and services that will be reviewed in the next year to identify, prevent and remove barriers.
Multi-Year Accessibility Plan and Compliance Reports

Under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) South Huron is required to plan and implement a multi-year accessibility plan.

South Huron is a member of the Huron County Accessibility Advisory Committee and has adopted Huron County's Multi-Year Accessibility Plan.

The Municipality of South Huron prepared a report to Council outlining 2023 updates and progress on the AODA Regulations.

Municipal Policies and Plans
  • Accessibility Standards for Customer Service Policy - As an employer, and a provider of services, the Municipality of South Huron is committed to ensuring its services are provided in an accessible manner. The Municipality of South Huron will promote accessibility through the development of policies, procedures and practices and by ensuring they consider people with disabilities. South Huron's Accessibility Standards for Customer Service
  • Corporate Accessibility Policy - The Municipality of South Huron is committed to ensuring equal access and participation for people with disabilities. We are committed to treating people with disabilities in a way that allows them to maintain their dignity and independence. We believe in integration and we are committed to meeting the needs of people with disabilities in a timely manner. We will do so by removing and preventing barriers to accessibility and meeting our accessibility requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 and Ontario’s accessibility laws. At the May 3, 2021 Regular Council meeting, Municipal Council approved the South Huron Corporate Accessibility Policy.
  • Communication Policy - The Municipality of South Huron's Communication policy states that we will;
    • Use a variety of communication means to accommodate diverse communication needs;
    • Ensure Municipal information, both online and in print, is accessible, identifiable and responsive to the needs of our community; citizens are able to attend and participate in public meetings; the communication needs of all employees will be considered including any employees who may not have access to electronic information.
  • Election Accessibility Plan - The Municipal Elections Act places responsibility on the Clerk to have regard to the needs of the electors and candidates with disabilities. Accessible customer service standards must be followed when conducting municipal elections. South Huron's election accessibility plan ensures that candidates and electors with disabilities have full and equal access to all election information and services, including the voting kiosk at the municipal office.
  • Engagement Policy - It is the policy of the Municipality of South Huron to:
    • Value inclusiveness — ensuring public notice and engagement is based on building trust and relationships that seek to involve all members of the community.
    • Provide clear and accessible information —using plain language in a wide
      variety of formats and channels of communication.

  • Procurement of Goods and Services Policy - Contracts for the acquisition of goods and services shall include the following elements:
    • that the Vendor shall comply with the accessibility standards under the Accessibility for Ontarians With Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA);
    • that the Vendor shall ensure that its employees are trained on providing accessible customer services. Any training or training resources must conform to the legislated requirements under the Act; and
    • that the Vendor shall maintain records of the training, including dates when training was provided, the number of employees who received training and individual training records. Where requested by the Municipality, the person, business or organization shall provide written proof, as well as any documentation regarding training policies, practices and procedures, to the Municipality.
Municipal Website

The Municipality of South Huron is dedicated to ensuring that our website, and its content, meets the requirements set out under the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

The launch of our current website was an important step toward meeting the requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005.

The Municipality of South Huron is making every effort to ensure that all internal tools are accessible and is working with third-party vendors to make them aware of the provincial requirements. To ensure our website and content are accessible, we conduct regular checks on the web pages and receive training on how to create accessible digital documents.

We are striving to provide a municipal website that is designed to respond to the needs of an accessible community, and includes the following guidelines:

  • well structured content
  • use plain English (except for specific words that don’t have an alternative)
  • use short sentences
  • explain acronyms
  • whenever possible, documents (PDF, Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint) will be posted in accessible form
  • write good link text
  • make images and videos accessible
  • ensure new features work on assistive technologies

However, we know that some aspects of this website are not fully accessible and we are continuing to work on resolving them:

  • some content may not be in plain English or short sentences
  • navigation links may be confused with other links on the page
  • lists of content may contain duplicate links
  • wide HTML tables cannot be viewed on small screens
  • a large proportion of PDFs and other documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
  • video and audio may not have captions or transcripts
  • an ongoing effort is being made to make historical documents available and compliant with the standard

 Non-accessible Content

The Municipality of South Huron recognizes situations where it is not practicable to present content in an accessible format. In these cases, best efforts are being used to provide citizens an accessible alternative or assistance in acquiring the information needed.

Specific aspects of this website are non-complaint with the WCAG 2.1 AA standard, as shown in the list below.

  • Mapping or GIS data.
  • Engineering drawings or complex technical data.
  • Legacy applications or data that cannot be updated or cannot be updated with reasonable effort/expenses.
  • Vendor web applications where the Municipality was unable to negotiate contractual obligation to maintain accessibility.
  • Presentation content where rendering accessible would hinder the ability to achieve its intended purpose.
  • Content that cannot be rendered accessible without significant impact.
  • Excel documents, for example financial information
  • Content to be posted created by third party sources, ex. Agendas, minutes from outside boards reporting to Council;
  • External contributors may provide content which does not comply with web accessibility standards. Converting such document to an accessible format is deemed non-practicable.

 If you require assistance please contact the Clerk by phone at 519-235-0310 or by email at clerk@southhuron.ca.

Feedback
Your feedback is important to us. If you have questions or concerns regarding accessibility, please complete our feedback form.

Resources

Accessible Documents
  • WCGA 2.0 Level AA: The Municipality of South Huron is required to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA for content on websites. If you are providing services that will result in the creation of documents for the Municipality of South Huron, then you will be required to create those documents in an accessible format in order to meet WCAG 2.0 Level AA.
  • Accessible Document Tutorials: If you need help learning about the creation of accessible documents, you can access many resources on creating accessible documents through Algonquin College.
Accessible Events
The inclusion of everyone in all aspects of the community is important. Accessibility Ontario has created an Accessible Event Planning Guide that provides information on no-cost and low-cost actions that can help reduce barriers for people with disabilities and make all types of events more inclusive. If you are planning an event be sure to check out this guide!
Accessible Location Applications

There are several applications or ‘apps’ that will show you accessible businesses, hotels and restaurants in Ontario, Canada and the world. 

Accessible Parking Spaces
Do you Respect Accessible Parking Spaces?

It is important to leave accessible parking spaces open for those who are legally entitled to use them. Please respect the space.

What are accessible parking spaces?

Accessible Parking Permits are issued by Service Ontario to either a driver or a passenger with a disability or health condition. When people use mobility devices such as wheelchairs or walker, their disability is obvious. However, some health conditions are invisible, for example people with heart or lung conditions. Permits are issued to people, not vehicles, so that people living with a disability can use the permit in any vehicle. That person must be in the car for the permit to be valid.

The province began issuing new accessible parking permits with enhanced security features in 2016. The features, which include machine-readable barcodes, raised markings and serial numbers, help to confirm that a permit is authentic. An Identification Number contains key information that describes the permit holder including first and last initials, gender and decade of birth. Permit abusers are easily identified.

Services Directory for People with Disabilities
There is a directory of services for Huron and Perth Counties which support people living with intellectual or physical disabilities; for families and caregivers as well as individuals. This information is available on the Southwest Healthline website, under "Huron-Perth - People with Disabilities".

Contact(s)

South Huron logo

We work hard to ensure that everyone can access the information and services they need.

For information in alternative formats or assistance accessing information, please contact the Municipal Office at 519-235-0310. 

© 2020 The Municipality of South Huron, 322 Main Street South P.O. Box 759 Exeter, ON N0M 1S6