Why should your business participate in National Access Awareness Week?

Under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) legislation, all businesses that have one or more employees, and are a provider of goods and services, will be required to comply with customer service regulations by January 1, 2012.

These regulations are designed to promote inclusion and allow businesses to meet the needs of all customers, potentially increasing your marketplace.

The province is currently developing four more accessibility standards for: information and communications, employment, transportation, and built environment.

The first three of these standards will be integrated into a single regulation, making them more flexible for businesses.

By creating a customer service policy you are opening your doors to:

• Helping Ontario become a destination choice for tourists with disabilities, which would generate $1.5 billion in new spending and grow the tourism sector between two and seven per cent.
• Canadians with disabilities who spend $25 billion every year and influence the spending decisions of 12 to 15 million other consumers.
• 1 in 7 people in Ontario who currently have a disability. It is expected over the next 20 years that number will increase to 1 in 5 people.
• The aging population in our region. The median age of Brockville’s population is 5 years older than that of the rest of the province and country. Tailoring services to meet the needs of these customers will allow your business to succeed in our regional market.
• Ontarians aged 65 and over, who by 2017, will for the first time account for a larger share of the population than children aged 0-14.