Improving accessibility for people with disabilities in employment, customer service and universal design is the driving force behind the projects funded under the Ontario government’s EnAbling Change partnership program.

The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) developed a customer service standard for people with disabilities with the help of a grant under the EnAbling Change partnership program. The standard was voluntary, and was accompanied by tools and resources to help businesses of all sizes improve customer service to people with disabilities.

CSA has recently finished piloting customer service training for serving customers with disabilities with seven business “champions” through its Building Champions program. The inaugural “champions” include small, medium and large businesses that collectively serve hundreds of thousands of Ontarians every day and share a commitment to improving customer service and access for people with disabilities. They include:

• The Shaw Festival
• Eatertainment (including Toronto’s Panorama Restaurant and Bloor Street Diner)
• Delta Chelsea Hotel, Toronto
• Cineplex Galaxy Theatres
• Sears Canada
• Wal-Mart
• Wendy’s Restaurants Canada

EnAbling Change

The EnAbling Change partnership program provides funding for strategic projects that will make a significant impact on improving accessibility for people with disabilities throughout an industry or sector, or across several sectors.

EnAbling Change partnerships are selected based on their capacity to promote change and the extent to which they improve access for people with disabilities. Projects have a broad range of benefits that will positively impact people and organizations beyond the immediate project participants.

The Ontario government invests $500,000 annually in EnAbling Change projects and targets partners who have the expertise to be catalysts for change.

The focus of EnAbling Change is to improve accessibility for people with disabilities in three core areas:

• Employment: To improve access to employment for people with disabilities by increasing the awareness of employers of the benefits of hiring and retaining employees with disabilities
• Customer Service: To develop and promote voluntary codes of practice or voluntary standards to improve access to customer oriented services for people with disabilities
• Universal Design: To promote the benefits of applying new design principles to create universally accessible products, designs and environments that everyone can use and enjoy.