Accessible Customer Service Policy  

Providing accessible customer services:

Communication and information 

To determine the barrier, we ask the individual what method of communication they prefer and strive to offer that modality.  

Assistive devices 

Individuals with disabilities may use their personal assistive devices when accessing our programs, services or facilities. 

Support persons 

We welcome support persons and will provide information in advance if a support person is expected to pay admission or service fees. 

Service animals 

We welcome service animals accompanying an individual.  

Maintain barrier free physical access 

We are committed to maintaining barrier free physical access to our programs and services. 

Notice of temporary disruption 

In the event of a planned or unexpected disruption of services or facilities, we let the public know when and why an accessibility feature is temporarily unavailable, how long it will be unavailable, and other ways to access our services.

Office/Service locations as well as facilities within them that are affected by this policy include: accessible washroom; elevator; automatic doors; swimming pool, etc..

Feedback process 

We welcome feedback on our accessible customer service. Community member feedback will help us identify barriers and respond to concerns. We document the actions we take to respond to the feedback we receive, and that information is available on request in a format that meets the individual’s communication needs.

Training 

We provide the required training on accessible customer service to employees, volunteers and management. We are trained on:

• How to interact and communicate with people who face barriers to accessing goods and services, who use assistive devices, who are assisted by a support person and/or are assisted by a service animal.
• How to use any equipment or assistive devices that are available on-site. 
• An overview of The Accessibility for Manitobans Act, The Human Rights Code (Manitoba), and the Customer Service Standard. 
• Our organizational policies, practices and measures, including updates or changes. 
  Written record of our accessibility and training policies.

We keep a written record of our accessibility and training policies 

Our written documents include a summary of our training material and when training is offered. 

We let the public know that our written policies are available on request.

Making public events accessible

Public events will be planned with accommodation in mind including:

• holding events in accessible venues
• offering accommodation in event advertising