corporate accessibility

The City of St. Catharines is dedicated to providing high quality services for our community.  In doing so, we recognize the diverse needs of our community and strive to provide services and facilities that are accessible for everyone.  The City promotes accessibility through the development of its policies, procedures and practices that are consistent with the core principles of integration, independence, dignity and equal opportunity for persons with disabilities. 

Click here to visit the website accessibility page that includes information on obtaining Browse Aloud.

Background

The City of St. Catharines has been resourcing the expertise and perspective of people with disabilities since it established the Mayor's Advisory Committee on Accessibility (MACOA) in 1998, well before the Provincial Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001 mandated accessibility advisory committees.

The City of St. Catharines, like other municipalities in Ontario, prepares an annual Accessibility Plan to address the issues and barriers preventing persons with disabilities from participating fully in the life of the community. Ultimately, the annual Accessibility Plan is intended to identify, remove and prevent all barriers that may impede residents and visitors from accessing and using a municipal service. Accessibility planning will no longer be an afterthought but instead will become ingrained in the normal operating policies and procedures of the City of St. Catharines.

Using the Facility Accessibility Design Standards, adopted by council in April 2006, as its guiding document, the City of St. Catharines has audited all its facilities to evaluate accessibility. Any deficiencies noted within the accessibility audit are being prioritized with input and advice from MACOA and staff to determine redesigns and budgets to Council. 

In 2009, City Hall underwent a number of accessibility related renovations.  Built in 1937, City Hall is a good example of creating better accessibility for various disabilities in an older building. 

Accessible improvements include:

• Listening assistive devices in Council Chambers
• Talking elevator at City Hall's accessible James Street entrance
• Auto-open and wider doorways throughout public corridors
• Door knobs changed to lever handles
• Lower accessible customer service counters in all departments
• Several washrooms were fully renovatedand incorporate larger dimensions, wider turning radiuses and automatic amenities, such as auto-door openers, auto-flush, motion sensing taps and hand dryers, along with various 'green' improvements that include motion-activated lighting.  

In creating an inclusive experience within the City's  facilities, similar concepts for accessibility have been applied and implemented from the design process forward for many years now. Accessibility will continue to be a priority.

Click here to open the Accessible Customer Service Policy

Click here to open the 2012 Accessibility Plan

Click here to open the Facility Accessibility Design Standards (FADS)

Click here to open the FADS brochure

Click here to open the FADS brochure - clear print

Legislation

In 2001, the Province of Ontario introduced the Ontarians with Disabilities Act (ODA), which, among other things, mandated the public sector to create an annual accessibility plan to identify, remove or prevent barriers to its goods and services. It also required that an accessibility advisory committee be created in municipalities with populations greater than 10,000.

Subsequently, in June 2005, the Province introduced the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) to benefit all Ontarians by developing, implementing and enforcing a number of accessibility standards in order to achieve accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities by the year 2025. The AODA mandates both the public and private sectors. 

For more information about the province's accessibility legislation and these standards, please visit the website links below.

Click here to visit the Province of Ontario's Accessibility Web Page

Click here to visit the Province of Ontario's information and resources at AccessON

Customer Service Feedback

As part of its proactive approach, the City of St. Catharines has trained all staff in providing accessible customer service and it currently meets or exceeds the requirements of the AODA Customer Service Standard (Ontario Regulation 429/07).

The City welcomes all feedback on our accessible customer service.  Contact us in person, by mail, phone, fax or TTY, or contact the Accessibility Co-ordinator directly.