Originally published December 12, 2011
The holiday season is fast approaching and we would like to wish all members of the board and property management a safe and happy holidays. We would also like to remind you of a fast approaching deadline.
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act ("AODA") became law in 2005, and is intended to implement and enforce mandatory accessibility standards in Ontario, with the goal of increasing access to goods or services for individuals with disabilities. Under the AODA, the Ontario government will create mandatory standards in five (5) key areas, including:
- Customer Service
- Information and Communications
- Employment
- Transportation
- Built Environment
The Customer Service Standard deals with the customer service aspects of offering goods or services to customers (being owners, residents, guests, visitors, etc.), the public and third parties who have various disabilities. In our opinion, condominium corporations provide goods or services and must comply with this standard. Organizations must comply with the Customer Service Standard by January 1, 2012. As a result, a policy must be created and numerous other requirements must be followed. There are other standards that condominium corporations must comply with however, most of these do not come into force until a later date. Please contact us if you require more information on the Customer Service Standard (and the accompanying policy) or any other standards that condominium corporations must comply with as of January 1, 2012, and thereafter.
In addition, we would like to advise our clients that we have recently revised our rules precedent and numerous policies. We find that most corporations rules' do not have provisions relating to harassment, hoarding and other re-occurring issues. As a result, condominium corporations cannot effectively respond to these issues. Our new comprehensive rules precedent will enable corporations to effectively respond to the above-noted issues and others.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.