Amanda: The Ontarian government is promising that it will erase all barriers for Ontarians living with disabilities by 2025. And starting tomorrow, new customer service standards for the public service will be officially enforced. This is the first of several sets of standards that are supposed to be implemented.

Madelyn Meilleur is the Provincial Minister of Community and Social Services, and she joins me on the line right now. Hello, Madelyn.

Madelyn Meilleur: Hi Amanda.

Amanda: Now what are these customer service standards that have to be met?

Madelyn Meilleur: The standard will require service providers to develop policies, processes, and procedures to provide accessible customer services. They will have also to train employees and volunteers who deal with the public on how to provide accessible customer service and other requirements, but those are the two main ones. And they also would be required to receive feedback from their customers. So we’re very proud because we’re the first ones who will have an accessible province by 2025. I hope that the other provinces will follow us, so that’s why we took time to develop standards in five different areas: transportation, communication, information, employment, built environment. And we stand ready to help our neighbors to get their province accessible.

Amanda: Now I know that the standards are set for tomorrow, but you say by 2025. What’s the time difference there?

Madelyn Meilleur: The standard for tomorrow is for customer service. And the standard will be achieved in stages, with milestones every five years or less.

Amanda: So public building first?

Madelyn Meilleur: Public for 2010, and private sector for 2012. And other standards will be implemented soon. They have been developed, some are still in consultation, and the others will be approved by cabinet after New Year, and they will be implemented by stage.

Amanda: So how will this directly change the way people with disabilities are currently being served within the public service sector?

Madelyn Meilleur: First of all, there is 1.85 million Ontarians who are disabled and need accessibility. And we want every Ontarian to be able to enjoy life in Ontario, to be able to work. So for instance, in transportation, when standards for transportation will be in place, then people will be able to go to work and to go to activities of daily living, because public transportation will be accessible. There will be low-floor buses and...        
         
Amanda: Elevators that actually work in the Toronto subway?

Madelyn Meilleur: Yes, indeed, and also the name of the streets will be announced or will be visible. People with difficulty in seeing will be able to see the street that is coming up. And for employment, for instance, employers will have to design an accessible workplace or work station for people who need accessibility. Information technology, such as websites, provided by public and private sectors, will be accessible for blind people or people with hearing disabilities. So it will change their life substantially. It has been required by people with disabilities for many many years, and we’re very proud to be the government who would put that in place. 

Amanda: So it just needs to be enforced then?

Madelyn Meilleur: Yes, it needs to be enforced, but you know, people with disabilities spend around 25 billion each year in Canada. So accessibility will help businesses to increase their customer base and their bottom line.

Amanda: So if they don’t do it out of the goodness of their heart, at least knowing that they’ll increase their bottom line would hopefully be an incentive?

Madelyn Meilleur: Yes, or else they will be fined. Individuals may be liable for a fine of not more than $50,000 for each day or part of the day on which the offense occurs. And for corporations, it is $100,000. But you know, we want to work with private and public sectors to make sure that these standards are in place. We want to help them, so we’re not talking about fines right now.

Amanda: Thanks, Madelyn. We wanna get to someone who’s gonna speak to this as well. So thank you very much.

Madelyn Meilleur: You’re welcome.
         
Amanda: Madelyn Meilleur is Ontario’s Minister of Community and Social Services, and some people living with disabilities say that 2025 deadline for full accessibility is too long.      

Geof Collis specializes in web accessibility and is visually impaired, and he’s on the phone as well. Hello Geof.

Geof Collis: Hi, how are you doing?

Amanda: Good, thanks, sorry to keep you so tight for time, but how do you believe the province is meeting your needs with these regulations that they’ve made?
   
Geof Collis: I don’t really think so.

Amanda: No? Why not?

Geof Collis: She speaks of enforcement but there’s nothing in place right now to enforce anything. It’s still on your best behavior. Back in 2007, when this was first enacted, she was given a reasonable amount of time to appoint inspectors and a tribunal, and here we are in 2010, and there’s still nothing in place. People are still on their best behavior.

Amanda: What more should they be doing in the province in order to meet the needs?

Geof Collis: Well, they have it right in the legislation. Eight pages of it say exactly what the inspectors and the tribunal are allowed to do: doing the premises, and inspecting. Who do you even go to? If you have a complaint with somebody, who do you go to? I don’t know. I don’t know anybody who knows where you’d go.

Amanda: There’s no official call center or anything like that?

Geof Collis: No, not that I’m aware of. I mean, a lot of people are scratching their heads about it. Where’s the enforcement? We’re still on the best behavior.

Amanda: Well, I really appreciate you taking the time. Sorry that we crunched you for it here today, Geof. But thank you very much, and hopefully this is not just something that people are talking about but they’ll actually be implementing finally for 2010.

Geof Collis: That would be nice.

Amanda: Okay, thanks very much.

Geof Collis: Thank you.
 
Amanda: Geof Collis specializes in web accessibility and is visually impaired. 

Transcribed by Even Grounds(http://www.evengrounds.com/services), making information technology accessible to people with disabilities.