HomeMy WebLinkAboutAccessibility Adv - 2002-10-24 ODA COMMUNITY FORUM MEETING
WATERLOO MEMORIAL RECREATION COMPLEX
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24,2002
MINUTES
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Welcome and Introductions
Patti Duke, Chairperson of the K-W Accessibility Advisory Committee, welcomed everyone
and thanked them for attending the meeting. Patti requested everyone to introduce him or her
self.
Purpose of the Meeting/Outline of the Agenda
Irene O'Toole also welcomed everyone. The purpose of the meeting was to:
a) Share information on the legislation and requirements of the ODA
b) Explore possibilities of creating partnerships for joint planning to create a seamless
approach in the region in order to remove barriers affecting the participation of persons with
disabilities.
Municipal History/involvement with barrier free/disability issues
Margaret Sanderson, Inclusion Services Co-ordinator for the Cities of Kitchener and
Waterloo gave a brief history of the K-W Barrier Free Advisory Committee (BFAC). It
evolved over ten years ago through the efforts of a group of committed volunteers, with a
mandate to advise the two municipalities on issues related to the removal of barriers for
persons with a disability. In recent years, the relationship between the K-W Barrier Free
Advisory Committee and the two municipal Councils has been formalized to include Council
representatives and funding for meetings.
Paula Saunders, a founding member ofK-W BFAC also spoke briefly on the history. The
Executive of the K-W BFAC has agreed to assist the two municipalities in exploring the
opportunities for joint ODA planning in the Waterloo region. This is an interim joint
Accessibility Advisory Committee that will support the municipalities in developing a frame
work for future operations, including mandate, terms of reference, application process, etc.
Introduction of ODA -
Margaret handed out this presentation in hard copy.
,/' All municipalities (over 10,000) shall have an ODA Accessibility Advisory Committee
(under 10,000 may have an AAC, but may choose to not have one, rather, only consult
with persons with disabilities).
,/' All municipalities shall develop an annual plan for the removal of barriers and submit this
to the Ontario government
,/' Plans shall be made public
,/' Other institutions, such as hospitals, school boards, universities etc shall develop and
submit a plan in consultation, but do not need to have an AAC
Comments from the Forum were -
,/' The lack of funding for the implementation of ODA may present a challenge for some
sectors, particularly local rural municipalities.
,/' Presently, accessibility features are being addressed through public works services dept.
within the municipality.
,/' The purpose of this legislation is to heighten awareness and create opportunities for
collaboration and discussion on issues impacting the daily lives of persons with a disability
,/' The consultation process is a key feature of the legislation
,/' The ODA is a long-term strategy to begin to change the 'mindset', the expectation is that
this will take time
,/' The ODA provides opportunities for different sectors to work together
5.
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Joint Planning
The requirements of the legislation can be met through a joint planning process within the
community. The advantages of joint planning are:
· Maximizes the use of community resources
· Provides for a more seamless approach to the ODA planning process
· Provides for an exchange of resources (training materials etc)
· Will result in a more effective removal of barriers in the community
· Enables cross functional learning and ideas to be considered
· Broadens the collaborative process
The joint panning process could take on different directions, some examples to consider may
be:
· A joint plan including many mandate organizations
· A joint planning process that created partnerships with like sectors to come together i.e.
all hospitals, all post-secondary education institutions, all municipalities, etc
· Either of the above with a networking process that provided support to the planning
process
This legislation is not prescriptive and leaves flexibility for each community to decide how
planning will be done and also what the focus of the plan for each year will be.
Discussion Q/A and where do we go from here?
· Mayor Martens expressed his views regarding the obligation of Public Transportation
providers.
· How do hospitals meet the requirements of legislation?
· Flexibility has been built into the ODA (Sectionl7) to enable municipalities, school
boards, community colleges, hospitals and public transportation providers to jointly
prepare one plan.
· If we partner, what would be the requirements?
· What role can the K-W AAC take with other players?
BRAINSTORMING IDEAS
Need for sign language interpreters in Ontario
Involvement of seniors and their ideas
Train and bring awareness to students in Universities in Architectural Depts.
Provide sensitivity awareness training for staff re. accessibility issues
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NEXT STEPS
It was decided that participams need time to take the information back to their organizations
for consideration. All participams indicated an imerest in further discussion of ODA Joim
Planning.
Another meeting will be planned for January 2003.
The next meeting will focus on the challenges and benefits of joint planning and the
identification of partners in the process
Fsheikhl0/02