Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) Policy and Plan Related to the Integrated Accessibility Standards
Purpose
The following policy and plan outlines CLHIA’s commitment and the actions it will take to comply with the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (IASR) under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) (2005).
This policy and plan is aimed at achieving accessibility for CLHIA clients, members of the public, employees and job applicants who interact with our staff (including third parties acting on our behalf).
Our Commitment
CLHIA is committed to treating all people including persons with disabilities in a manner that allows them to maintain their dignity and independence. We believe in equal opportunity and integration. We are committed to meeting the needs of persons with disabilities in a timely manner and meeting the applicable legislative requirements of AODA for preventing and removing barriers.
Accessibility Plan
CLHIA's Accessibility Plan outlines our approach to establish accessibility for persons with disabilities, over the period 2014 to 2021 as outlined below.
1. Emergency Information
We are committed to providing persons with disabilities with publicly available emergency information in an accessible format or with appropriate communication supports upon request.
Date Required: January 1, 2012
Status: Ongoing as required
1.2 Accessible Workplace Emergency Information
We are committed to providing employees with disabilities individualized emergency information in an accessible way upon request or if CLHIA is aware that an employee needs accommodation as a result of his/her disability as soon as it is practicable. With the employee's consent, CLHIA will also provide the emergency response information to any person(s) designated to assist the employee.
Date Required: January 1, 2012
Status: Ongoing as required
2.Training
We will provide training to employees or other third parties working on behalf of CLHIA that incorporates the requirements of Ontario’s Integrated Accessibility Standards and the Human Rights Code as it pertains to persons with disabilities.
Training will be provided appropriate to a person's job duties and will be updated to reflect any changes to this policy. We will keep training records as required.
Date Required: January 1, 2015
Status: Completed
3. Information and Communications
3.1 Feedback Process
CLHIA’s processes for receiving and responding to feedback will be provided in an accessible format or with communication supports provided or arranged for upon request. We will consult with the person to determine the suitability of the accessible format or communication support required.
Date Required: January 1, 2015
Status: Completed
3.2 Accessible Formats and Communication Supports
CLHIA is committed to meeting the communication needs of persons with disabilities.
Upon request, we will provide or arrange for publicly available information in accessible formats and/or with communication supports for persons with disabilities in a timely manner, taking into account the person’s accessibility needs due to disability and at a cost no more than the regular cost charged to other persons. We will consult with the person to determine the suitability of the accessible format or communication support.
We will notify the public about the availability of accessible formats and communication supports.
Date Required: January 1, 2016
Status: Ongoing as required
3.3. Websites and Web Content
CLHIA is committed to making its website and web content accessible to all persons including those with disabilities and to making sure new websites and new web content published after January 1, 2012 conforms with the World Wide Web Consortium Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Level A.
Date Required: January 1, 2014
Status: Completed
We will take the necessary steps to make our website and new web content published after January 1, 2014 conform with WCAG 2.0, Level AA [excluding success criteria 1.2.4 Captions (Live) and success criteria 1.2.5 Audio Descriptions (Pre-recorded)].
Date Required: January 1, 2021
Status: In progress
The requirements set out above do not apply to any information that CLHIA does not directly control or information that cannot be converted because it is not feasible to convert or because the technology to convert the information is not readily available. Where it is determined that information or communications cannot be converted, CLHIA will provide an explanation of why the information cannot be converted and a summary of the information or communication.
4. Employment
CLHIA is committed to fair and accessible employment practices throughout all stages of the employment cycle and to identifying and removing barriers to employment for persons with disabilities.
4.1 Recruitment, Assessment and Selection
We will notify our employees and the public of the availability of accommodation for persons with disabilities during the recruitment process.
Upon request, we will accommodate persons with disabilities during the recruitment and assessment process.
When making offers of employment, we will notify the successful applicant of our policies for accommodating persons with disabilities.
Date Required: January 1, 2016
Status: Completed
4.2 Informing Employees of Supports
We will inform our employees of CLHIA's policies to support persons with disabilities, including our policies on accommodation, and we will update this information whenever there is a change to existing policies.
Date Required: January 1, 2016
Status: Completed
4.3 Accessible Formats and Communication Supports for Employees
Upon request, we will consult with employees with disabilities to provide or arrange for the provision of suitable accessible formats and communication supports for information that is needed in order to perform the employee's job and for information that is generally available to employees in the workplace.
Date Required: January 1, 2016
Status: Ongoing as required
4.4 Documented Individual Accommodation Plans and Return to Work Process
We will put in place a written process for developing individual documented accommodation plans for persons with disabilities who require accommodation.
We will put in place a return to work process which takes into account the individual's accommodation plan for employees that have been absent due to a disability.
Date Required: January 1, 2016
Status: Completed
4.5 Performance Management, Career Development and Advancement, and Redeployment
We will take into account the disability needs, as well as individual accommodation plans, of our employees with disabilities when engaging in performance management discussions, when providing career development and advancement and when considering redeployment of the employee.
Date Required: January 1, 2016
Status: Completed
5. Plan Review
We will review this accessibility plan at least every five years and will update it as required.
Contact
For further information regarding this policy, or if you would like to obtain this document in an alternate format, please contact us by any of the following means:
Email: info@clhia.ca
Telephone: (416) 777-2221
Write to: Vice President, Finance and Administration
Canadian Life and Health and Insurance Association Inc.
79 Wellington Street West, Suite 2300
P.O. Box 99, TD South Tower
Toronto, Ontario M5K 1G8
