THE REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY OF PEEL

ACCESSIBILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE

MINUTES

AAC-2/2020

Thursday, November 19, 2020

1:30 P.m. - 3:30 P.m.

Council Chamber, 5th Floor

Regional Administrative Headquarters

10 Peel Centre Drive, Suite A

Brampton, Ontario

Members Present:

• C.Belleth
• R. Chopra
• P. Crawford-Dickinson
• M. Daniel
• P. Fortini
• N. Husain
• N. Iannicca
• A. Karim
• M. Mahoney
• I. Sinclair

Members Absent:

• C. Chafe
• A. Groves
• A. Misar

Staff Present

• J. Baker, Chief Administrative Officer
• S. Baird, Commissioner of Digital and Information Services
• K. Lockyer, Regional Clerk and Interim Commissioner of Corporate Services
• J. Sheehy, Commissioner of Human Services
• N. Polsinelli, Commissioner of Health Services
• C. Thomson, Deputy Clerk and Manager of Legislative Services
• R. Khan, Committee Clerk
• S. Valleau, Legislative Specialist
• S. MacGregor, Legislative Assistant

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1.

CALL TO ORDER

Raj Chopra, Committee Chair, called the Region of Peel Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting to order on November 19, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers, Regional Administrative Headquarters, 10 Peel Centre Drive. The Committee Chair attended in-person. Members of the Committee and staff participated electronically.

2.

DECLARATIONS OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Nil.

3.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

• RECOMMENDATION AAC-2-2020:

  That the agenda for the November 19, 2020 Region of Peel Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting be approved.

4.

DELEGATIONS

Nil.

5.

REPORTS

5.1

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act – Website Compliance

Presentation by Shauna Marshall, Manager, Marketing and Digital Communications and Michail Karteros, Supervisor, Digital Marketing (Related to 6.1)

• Received
• RECOMMENDATION AAC-3-2020:

  That the Minister for Seniors and Accessibility be requested to extend the compliance deadline for website accessibility by one year to January 1, 2022 to allow public sector organization to meet the compliance requirements.

   

Shauna Marshall, Manager, Marketing and Digital Communications; and Michail Karteros, Supervisor, Digital Marketing, provided an overview of the work underway to update the Region’s website to meet requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

Michail Karteros requested assistance from AAC committee members to conduct beta testing of the new website and digital tools. 

Shauna Marshall, noted that staff are working with an external vendor, AbleDocs, to assist with PDF remediation and to provide training to staff on how to create accessible documents. 

In response to a question from Councillor Sinclair regarding the use of patterns and dots on graphs as opposed to colour contrast, Michail Karteros confirmed that using tags and labels are industry best practice. Visual effects should not be the sole method used to provide information, especially for individuals using assistive technology.

In response to questions from Committee members regarding the use of Apple voiceover and other non-Microsoft screen readers, Michail Karteros indicated that different technologies are taken into consideration, however, he requested the assistance of the AAC committee for usability testing. 

Committee member, Naz Husain suggested the minimal use of page headings as they can make page navigation difficult when using assistive technologies.

5.2

Overview of Key COVID-19 Response Activities to Mitigate Vulnerabilities and Support Accessibility 

(For Information)
Presentation by Dr. Nicholas Brandon, Associate Medical Officer of Health and Andrew Cooper, Manager, Regional Emergency Management

• Received

Andrew Cooper, Manager, Regional Emergency Management, provided an overview of the actions taken to address issues concerning accessibility and the needs of vulnerable populations during the Region’s COVID-19 response. Activities include: collaboration with community stakeholders; temporary isolation and recovery sites; COVID-19 emergency funding; Peel Housing Corporation supports; coordinated Marketing and Communication approaches; and Peel Public Health's COVID-19 response. 

Dr. Nicholas Brandon, Associate Medical Officer of Health provided an update on Peel Public Health’s response to COVID-19, including the reallocation of staff and resources. He noted that as part of case, contact, exposure and outbreak management, a case by case approach is taken to those with accessibility needs.

Committee Chair Raj Chopra, requested that emergency procedures consider the needs of persons with disabilities, including ensuring that public emergency announcements contain closed captioning and Sign Language Interpretation.

5.3

Accessibility Planning Program Update – November 19, 2020

(For information)

• Received

Veronica Montesdeoca, Accessibility Planning Specialist provided an update on the activities undertaken by the Region of Peel Accessibility Planning Program and the Accessibility Advisory Committee since its last meeting on September 17, 2020. She provided an overview of the changes to the Committee’s Terms of Reference which were updated to reflect a consistent and standardized approach for all Committees of Council, noting that the AAC Chair and/or Vice-Chair will now form part of the interview panel during citizen membership recruitment.

Veronica Montesdeoca reminded the Committee of the upcoming International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) on December 3, 2020, which will be observed through a virtual campaign.  She also reminded members to participate in the upcoming Abilities Virtual Expo being held from November 20-22, 2020.

6.

COMMUNICATIONS

6.1

Tammy Fowkes, Deputy Clerk, Town of Amherstburg

Regarding the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Website Compliance Extension Request (Receipt recommended) (Related to 5.1)

• Received

6.2

Matt MacDonald, Director of Corporate Services/City Clerk, City of Belleville

Regarding the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act - Website Funding Support for Municipalities (Receipt recommended)

• Received

7.

OTHER BUSINESS

In response to Committee member Naz Husain's request for committee minutes to be included in agenda packages, the Committee Clerk, clarified that the minutes are approved by Regional Council and will be circulated to Committee members once added to the appropriate Regional Council agenda.

8.

NEXT MEETING

Thursday, March 4, 2021
1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Council Chamber, 5th Floor
Regional Administrative Headquarters
10 Peel Centre Drive, Suite A
Brampton, Ontario

Please forward regrets to Rusha Khan, Committee Clerk at [email protected].

9.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 2:35 p.m.