The Information and Communications Standards under the AODA and the Information and Communication Standard under the Accessibility for Manitobans Act both require organizations to make information and communication accessible to people with disabilities. Moreover, both standards require many of the same processes and practices to ensure accessibility. However, there are many important differences between the standards. The third review of the AODA recommends that the Ontario government should coordinate with other provinces and the federal government to ensure that accessibility laws are consistent across Canada. Therefore, requirements in the AODA may one day change to align with mandates under the Accessibility for Manitobans Act. In this article, we will explore Manitoba’s requirement for information and communication accessibility training.
Information and Communication Accessibility Training
Under the accessible Information and Communication Standard of the Accessibility for Manitobans Act, organizations must give workers and volunteers training on accessible communication. All employees, agents, or volunteers who communicate to the public, or to another Manitoba organization, must receive this training. In addition, employees, agents, or volunteers should have training if they:
- Create or maintain the organization’s web content
- Buy or procure tools for communication or information technology
- Create and implement the organization’s accessible information and communication policy
During information and communication accessibility training, employees, agents, and volunteers should learn how to:
- Identify information and communication barriers
- Prevent or remove information and communication barriers
- Provide information using accessible formats and communication supports
In addition, training must also include overviews of the:
- Human Rights Code
- Accessibility for Manitobans Act
- Accessible Information and Communication Standard
Employees, agents, and volunteers must receive this training as soon as possible after they start their new positions. In addition, all these workers and volunteers should receive updated training whenever their organization changes policies, practices, or measures for accessible communication. Finally, all public-sector organizations, and large private-sector organizations, must have written policies for information and communication accessibility training. These policies should outline the content of training, as well as when training should take place.
Improvements to Information and Communication Accessibility Training
Ontario’s Information and Communications Standards do not currently require organizations to train their workers about accessible information and communication. However, this training is somewhat comparable to training on accessible customer service, required in both Ontario and Manitoba. For instance, customer service training also teaches employees and policy-makers about communicating in ways that take customers’ disabilities into account. Likewise, workers and volunteers learn about their provinces’ laws governing accessibility and human rights.
However, according to the Third Review of the AODA, the requirements for AODA customer service training need many improvements. One of these improvements is the need for training about specific barriers that customers with disabilities face. If Ontario aligns with Manitoba by mandating training on accessible information and communication, Ontario workers will at last gain the knowledge they need to recognize and remove barriers to information and communication.