Accessibility Policy & Multi-Year Accessibility Plan

Statement of Commitment

Halton Honda & Halton Autolease Inc. are committed to two main principles. One is ensuring customer satisfaction and the other is ensuring customer loyalty. One way that we can ensure these two principles are being followed is to ensure equal access and participation for people with disabilities. We are committed to treating people with disabilities in a way that allows them to maintain their dignity and independence.

We believe in integration and are committed to meeting the needs of people with disabilities in a timely manner. We will do so by removing and preventing barriers to accessibility and by meeting our accessibility requirements under Ontario’s accessibility laws.

Training

We are committed to training all staff in accessible customer service, other Ontario accessibility standards and aspects of the Ontario Human Rights Code that relate to persons with disabilities.

We will train:
     1) All persons who participate in developing the organization’s policies and
     2) All other persons who provide goods, services, or facilities on behalf of the organization

Training includes:
     1) Purpose of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 and the requirements of the Customer Service Standards
     2) Our policies related to the Customer Service Standards
     3) How to interact and communicate with people with various types of disabilities
     4) How to interact with people with disabilities who use an assistive device or require the assistance of a service animal or a support person
     5) How to use the equipment or devices available on-site or otherwise that may help with providing goods, services or facilities to people with disabilities.
     6) What to do if a person with a disability is having difficulty in accessing our organization’s goods, services or facilities.

We train every person as soon as practicable after being hired and provide training in respect to any changes to the policies.

We maintain records of the training provided including the dates on which the training was provided.

Assistive Devices

People with disabilities may use their personal assistive devices when accessing our goods,
services or facilities. In cases where the assistive device presents a significant and unavoidable health or safety concern or may not be permitted for other reasons, other measures will be used to ensure the person with a disability can access our goods, services or facilities.

Service Animals

We welcome people with disabilities and their service animals. Service animals are allowed on the parts of our premises that are open to the public and third parties. When we cannot easily identify that an animal is a service animal, our staff may ask for documentation (template, letter or form) from a regulated health professional that confirms the person needs the service animal for reasons relating to their disability.

Notice of Temporary Disruption

In the event of a planned or unexpected disruption to services or facilities for customers with disabilities, this organization will notify customers promptly. This clearly posted notice will include information about the reason for the disruption, its anticipated length of time, and a description of alternative facilities or services, if available. 

Employment

We notify employees, job applicants and the public that accommodations can be made during recruitment and hiring. We notify job applicants when they are individually selected to participate in an assessment or selection process that accommodations are available upon request. We consult with the applicants and provide or arrange for suitable accommodation.

We will consult with employees when arranging for the provision of suitable accommodation in a manner that considers the accessibility needs due to disability. We will consult with the person making the request in determining the suitability of an accessible format or communication supports specifically for:
     a) information that is needed in order to perform the employee’s job; and
     b) information that is generally available to employees in the workplace

Where needed, we will also provide customized emergency information to help an employee with a disability during an emergency. With the employee’s consent, we will provide workplace emergency information to a designated person who is providing assistance to that employee during an emergency.

We will provide the information as soon as practicable after we become aware of the need for accommodation due to the employee’s disability.

We will review the individualized workplace emergency response information:
     a) when the employee’s overall accommodations needs or plans are reviewed; and
     b) when the employer reviews its general emergency response policies.
We have a written process to develop individual accommodation plans for employees.
We have a written process for employees who have been absent from work due to a disability and require disability-related accommodations in order to return to work.
Our performance management, career development and redeployment processes take into account the accessibility needs of all employees.

Multi-Year Accessibility Plan

We have developed a multi-year accessibility plan which sets out our strategy for preventing and removing accessibility barriers from our workplace. This plan will be reviewed and updated at least once every 5 years.

We strive at all times to provide goods and services in a way that respects the dignity and independence of persons with disabilities. We are committed to giving people with disabilities the same opportunity to access our goods and services and allowing them to benefit from the same services, in the same place and in a similar way as other customers.

We will continue to take the following steps to ensure we continue to meet our AODA
requirements:
     1) Provide training on accessible customer service to all new employees who interact with the general public and third-party vendors
     2) Review and update policies and standards regularly to ensure high-quality, accessible customer service
     3) Review all customer and employee feedback and take appropriate and timely action
     4) Continue to implement service disruption protocol by posting signs to advise the public where alternative service may be obtained, while repairs to existing services are completed.
     5) Continue to train all employees on the requirements of the accessibility standards under the AODA and the Human Rights Code of Ontario as it relates to people with disabilities.
     6) We will maintain compliance with the World Wide Web Consortium Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Level AA.  

Feedback Process

Customers or employees who wish to provide feedback on the way we provide services to people with disabilities can verbally discuss their concerns by phone 905-632-5371 ext. 169 or by email joanne@haltonhonda.com 

This accessibility plan is posted on the Halton Honda website (www.haltonhonda.com). Upon request, we will provide a copy of the plan in an accessible format. Please contact
joanne@haltonhonda.com if you require this.