AODA Compliance Training
As you may recall, the Government of Ontario passed the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act in 2005. Its goal is to make Ontario accessible for persons with disabilities by 2025, by creating and enforcing accessibility standards. All staff and faculty have already received training on the Customer Service Standard, which was the first accessibility standard to become law as a regulation.
Several accessibility standards are contained in one regulation - called the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation. One of the requirements in this Regulation is that all organizations must provide training to employees, volunteers, and others on the requirements of the Regulation including training on the Ontario Human Rights Code as it relates to persons with disabilities.
Training for staff and faculty varies according to their respective duties. Below you will find a chart that indicates what training you will need to complete. Training is offered through the Accessibility and Health & Safety Training site on D2L. Please visit the Office of Human Resources – Health and Safety website for instructions on the registration process (signing in to a Lakehead University zoom account is required to view).
Please Note: Training is provided on-going whenever there are policy changes
| Module | Requirement for |
|---|---|
Ontario Human Rights Code | All employees and volunteers |
Customer Service Standard | All employees and volunteers |
Information & Communication Standard | All employees and volunteers |
General Requirements | Deans, Chairs, Schedule II – Band 6 and up, Senior Administration |
Employment Standard | Deans, Chairs, Schedule II – Band 6 and up, Senior Administration |
Design of Public Spaces | Senior Staff in Physical Plant, Members of Accessibility Committee, and Senior Administration |
The training is offered in a variety of formats - however, the online delivery is the easiest to access and to complete. It is the online link that is provided above.
Alternate formats for training: If you prefer training in an alternate format (video, audio, text of training), please go to http://www.accessforward.ca and click on the training module that you wish to complete in an alternate format. You'll be given a number of choices:
- "Take it" (this is the link that is provided above in the chart)
- "Watch it" - you can download the video for the training module
- "Hear it" - you can download the audio for the training module
- "Read it" - you can read a transcript of the training module
- For the Ontario Human Rights Training - a printer-friendly version of the video text is available directly on the link provided.
The training must completed by each individual when it is convenient for them but no later than 2 weeks from the date of employment.
As an employee, once you have completed your training:
- If you have completed the training through the Accessibility and Health & Safety Training site on D2L, a certificate will be generated automatically for you. If you have completed the accessible training provided, you will need to complete an attestation following the last module to update your training record. A certificate will be generated for your records.
- If you have completed training through an external agency, you will need to upload your certificate of completion to the Accessibility and Health & Safety Training site on D2L.
- provide a copy of the Training Certificate to your supervisor The Certificate may be printed off and completed or completed electronically and forwarded to the supervisor.)
Supervisors are responsible:
- to ensure that all their employees complete the required training, and
- that copies of the completed training certificates for their employees are uploaded to the Accessibility and Health & Safety Training site on D2L upon completion.