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Accessibility for People with Disabilities Policy

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Ensuring all people are treated with respect, with equitable access and opportunity to participate to the fullest extent in the city.

The City of Edmonton has a new and updated corporate accessibility policy. 

The updated policy will guide development and implementation of City policies and civic engagement, programs and services, communications and technology, employee services and infrastructure (facilities, open spaces and transportation) to ensure full consideration of individual's needs and diverse abilities. 

Accessibility: A Fundamental Aspect of Society

Accessibility is fundamental to the quality of life, well-being and engagement of individuals in the social, economic, cultural, spiritual and political aspects of society. 

The City of Edmonton Accessibility for People with Disabilities Policy is intended to ensure all people are treated with respect, and have equitable access and opportunity to participate to the fullest extent in the city.

The Policy

The Accessibility for People with Disabilities Policy was approved by City Council on September 24, 2019 and can be found here.

 

Public Engagement

Thanks for Sharing Your Feedback

Thank you to everyone who attended our public engagement sessions and completed our online survey. Input from the public engagement sessions and online survey was used to  finalize the policy. More details can be found on the What We Heard and What We Did report.

PDF Version 

Audio Version (SoundCloud)

Policy Implementation - Next Steps

October to December 2020
  • First 3-year Corporate Accessibility Plan published 
July to September 2020
  • Corporate accessibility actions finalized
April to June 2020
  • Engage with people with disabilities to support corporate accessibility actions
January to March 2020
  • Current state review, barrier identification, and develop accessibility actions 
October to December 2019
  • Department Accessibility Action Committees established  
  • Corporate Accessibility Steering Committee established to support implementation
October 2019 
  • Administrative Directive and Procedure for City Manager’s approval

Policy Development - History

September 24, 2019 
  • Policy to City Council for approval 
September 18, 2019
  • Report to Community and Public Services Committee (Agenda)
July 2019
  • What We Heard and Did (round 2)
  • Policy Refinement (final)
February–March 2019
  • Public Engagement - Advise on Policy
August–December 2018
  • Key Stakeholder Engagement on Policy (first draft)
  • What We Heard and Did (round 1)
  • Policy Refinement (second draft)
January–July 2018
  • Best Practice Research and Policy Development (first draft)

Project Overview

The updated Accessibility for People with Disabilities Policy, reflecting current best practices and research, replaces the policies that address accessibility and integration of people with disabilities: 

  • C463 Accessibility to City of Edmonton Owned and Occupied Buildings (1992)
  • C466 Integration of Persons with Disabilities (1993)
  • C589 Accessible Participation in Council Meetings, Committee Meetings and Public Hearings Meetings for Individuals with Disabilities (2016)

Combining these policies into one all-encompassing policy will ensure all people are treated with respect, and have equitable access and opportunities to participate to the fullest in City policies and civic engagement, programs and services, communications and technology, employee services and infrastructure (facilities, open spaces and transportation).  

The policy update is guided by a number of drivers including: 

  • The City’s commitment to providing accessible environments and universal design to ensure full consideration of individual’s needs and diverse abilities
  • Alignment with the City’s broader strategic framework and related plans and policies
  • Alignment with provincial, national and international policies, best practices and research
  • Opportunities to increase the City’s quality of life and reputation as an accessible city

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this policy include Diversity and Inclusion too?

The City of Edmonton’s Diversity and Inclusion Policy C538 was approved by City Council in 2008. It is currently under review for an update and will remain a separate policy from the Accessibility for People with Disabilities Policy.

How does the City define accessibility and disability?

Words can often have differing interpretations. For this policy work, the City has adopted the following definitions to create a common understanding: 

Accessibility — a concept integral to human rights that refers to the absence of barriers that prevent individuals and/or groups from fully participating in all social, economic, cultural, spiritual and political aspects of society. The term is often linked to people with disabilities and their rights to access. It also refers to universal design characteristics of products, devices, information, programs, services and infrastructure that enable independent use or support when required, and access by people with a variety of disabilities.

Disability —  an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions. An impairment is a problem in body function or structure; an activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action; while a participation restriction is a problem experienced by an individual in involvement in life situations. (World Health Organization, 2019)

Who will be impacted by the updated policy?

All Edmontonians, visitors and City employees will be impacted. The updated Policy will be a shared direction and way of working, impacting how we plan and make decisions in areas that affect people with disabilities.

What kind of changes can I expect to see because of this policy?

The updated Policy is expanded in scope to reference all areas of our work at the City, with the intent to identify and remove accessibility barriers in each of these areas including:

  • Technology
  • Information
  • Communication
  • Transportation
  • Recreation
  • Open spaces
  • Civic engagement
  • Programs and services

The Policy states the City’s commitments. The City is taking a well-thought-out, strategic approach to fulfil the commitments. A Corporate Accessibility Plan, which will identify priority actions to remove barriers. It will be developed throughout 2020 and approved by October 2020. The Plan will be incremental in nature with a phased-in approach. It will be reviewed and updated at a minimum of every three years

Are people with disabilities involved in development of the updated policy?

The City has been working with various external groups representing different abilities, including the Accessibility Advisory Committee, in preparation of the draft policy.

Administration will engage people with disabilities for feedback on actions to be incorporated into the Corporate Accessibility Plan. Engagement activities will provide services and accommodations for people with disabilities.

For More Information

311 Contact Centre

Online Contact 311 Online
Telephone

In Edmonton: 311
Outside Edmonton: 780-442-5311
TTY 780-944-5555
Email 311@edmonton.ca

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