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CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CALVIN
ACCESSIBILITY PLAN
2023- 2028
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES
As outlined in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, S.O. 2005, c. 11,
(AODA) "The purpose of this Act is to benefit all Ontarians by developing, implementing and
enforcing accessibility standards in order to achieve accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities
with respect to goods, services, facilities, accommodation, employment, buildings, structures and
premises on or before January 1, 2025."
The AODA mandates that each and every municipality in Ontario shall prepare an accessibility
plan.
The objectives of this plan are as follows:
1. To identify barriers within the Municipality of Calvin's physical premises and
communication tools
2. To describe the measures which the municipality will take in order to remove and prevent
these barriers future years
3. To review, on an annual basis, what measures have been taken to further identify,
improve or remove barriers
4. Describe how the municipality intends to make this accessibility plan available to the
public.
THE MUNICIPALITY OF CALVIN
The Corporation of the Municipality of Calvin was incorporated in 1887. It is located in the
Nipissing District of Ontario. The Municipality is bordered to the west by the Township of
Bonfield, on the east by the Township of Papineau-Cameron, to the south by the unorganized
community of Lauder and to the north by the Mattawa River.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Calvin had a population of 557
living in 227 of its 263 total private dwellings, a change of 7.9% from its 2016 population of
516. With a land area of 140.13 km2 (54.10 sq mi), it had a population density of 4.0/km2
(10.3/sq mi) in 2021.
There are no schools, hospitals or senior homes located within its boundaries. The
Municipality's main building provides a space from where operational staff work, Council meets
and community members gather for special events such as family celebrations. Adjacent to the
municipal office/community hall is the public works garage and nearby, the fire hall.
BARRIERS IDENTIFIED
In late 2023, the following barriers to the municipal buildings and to its communication tools
were identified.
1. Barrier
Rear entrance to Municipal Office/Community Hall and the existing designated accessible
washroom do not meet Accessibility for Ontario Disabilities Act, 2005, S.O. 2005, C11 (AODA)
requirements.
Type of Barrier
Architectural
Plan of Action
Modify the slope at the rear entrance; renovate the accessible washroom to include barrier free
toilet, bars, alarm, automatic door. Obtain Building Code Official approval of the modifications.
2. Barrier
Communication to community
Type of Barrier
Communications
Plan of Action
The newsletter, a publication distributed by mail is not accessible to those with visual impairments.
Possibly increase in font size.
3. Barrier
Municipal publications and forms posted to the website may not meet AODA requirements.
Type of Barrier
Technology
Plan of Action
Engage the services of a subject matter expert to bring forth recommendations for how
information on our website, including newsletters, by-laws, policies, meeting agendas and
minutes etc. can meet AODA requirements.
4. Barrier
Council and Staff knowledge about AODA Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation.
Type of Barrier
Information and Training
Plan of Action
Incorporate completion of relevant ACCESSFORWARD training modules (or similar tools) into
all new Council members' and employee orientation/training activities.
AREAS TO BE ADDRESSED IN 2023-2027
In 2023-24, we will modify the rear entrance of the municipal office/community hall and add
accessibility features to the building's designated accessible washroom.
We will ensure the Municipality's newsletter is available upon request, in a more accessible
format.
Limited and/or reliable internet access and poor/slow internet service throughout our
municipality severely impacts our ability to create and promote a fully accessible website. These
same internet capacity issues impact citizens' access to information, regardless of the source of
that information. Council will continue to advocate for the availability of modernized internet
services throughout the community.
On an on-going basis, we will continue to monitor the status of physical accessibility to the
Municipality's physical premises.
We will immediately incorporate the completion of relevant ACCESSFORWARD training
modules (or comparable tools) into all new Council member and employee orientation/training
activities.
REVIEW OF THE PLAN
As per the Accessibility for Ontario Disabilities Act, 2005, S.O. 2005, C11 (AODA), this plan
will be reviewed every five years, and will consider budget availability to allow the Municipality
to continue to monitor the barriers and the direction to which it is capable of responding.
COMMUNICATION OF THE PLAN
This plan will be available at the Municipal office upon request and shall be posted on the
Municipal website.
SUMMARY
As outlined in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, S.O. 2005, c. 11,
(AODA) "The purpose of this Act is to benefit all Ontarians by developing, implementing and
enforcing accessibility standards in order to achieve accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities
with respect to goods, services, facilities, accommodation, employment, buildings, structures and
premises on or before January 1, 2025." The AODA mandates that each and every municipality
in Ontario shall prepare an accessibility plan.
2003 was the first year that such a plan had been prepared by the Municipality of Calvin. With
the exception of the period 2020-2022, it has been reviewed and updated since then on a regular
basis. This 2023-2028 plan describes measures that the Municipality will take during that period
to identify, remove and prevent barriers to people with disabilities who use the facilities and the
information tools provided by the Municipality.
The most significant barriers recognized in the past report (2014-2019) were related to
improving accessibility to the municipal office/community hall. While some of the past issues
were addressed, since then more barriers to the hall area had been identified and quick action to
resolve them ensued.
As evidenced in the above statement, the Municipality of Calvin is committed to continuing to
monitor whether or not its physical premises are physically accessible and to improving access to
the public information pieces the Municipality itself publishes.
We recognize the importance of staff and Council's knowledge of the AODA and the role and
responsibility we as individuals and as a whole have toward it.
Together we will strive to continuously improve barriers to achieving the outcomes of the
AODA so that people with physical, visual and hearing impairment can enjoy access to the
Municipality's physical premises and to the publications it creates.