Draft Minutes to the Fourteenth Meeting of the
Accessible Transportation Standards Development Committee (T-SDC)
Royal York Hotel
Toronto, ON
May 5 – 6 2008
Present
- Al Cormier, Chair Cor Al Services
- Valmay Barkey, Ontario Community Support Association
- Louise Bark, Individual
- Glenn Barnes, Tetra Society
- Jo-Ann Bentley, Canadian Hearing Society
- James Bisson, Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario
- Earl Black, Independent Living Resource Centre
- Mark Brose, Transportation Action Now
- Bob Brown, Individual
- Silvan Bruno, GO Transit, Ontario Public Transit Association/Canadian Urban Transit Association
- Katrina Carrera, l'Association française des municipalités de l'Ontario
- Joan Gallagher-Bell, Individual
- Brenda Deck, HAGI Community Services for Independence, City of Thunder Bay
- Julianne Hay, Community Living Ontario
- Blyth Helman, Ottawa-Carleton District School Board
- Glenn Johnston, Toronto Transit Commission
- Diann Krieger, Individual
- Chris McLean, CNIB National Office
- Alex Milojevic, Association of Municipalities of Ontario, City of Brampton, Ontario Public Transit Association/Canadian Urban Transit Association
- Telecon - Tim Nolan, Council of Ontario Universities, Inter-University Disabilities Issues Association
- Kelly Paleczny, London Transit Commission, Ontario Public Transit Association/Canadian Urban Transit Association
- Maria Ann Pennacchietti, Individual
- Lloyd Pollock, Dignity Transportation Inc
- Danielle Svec, Bloorview Kids Rehab
Absent
- Druce Ayres, Individual
- Spiros Bastas, Royal Taxi
- Sharon Hambleton, Ontario Federation of Labour
- Judith Sandys, Individual
- Vanissa Szeto, Ministry of Education
Advisors
- Georges Ansell, Ministry of Northern Development and Mines
- Terry Gilhen, Disabled Persons Community Resources
- Uzma Kahn, ASAC
- Linda McAusland, Ministry of Transportation (rep by Rob Barnes)
- Susan Picarello, Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care
- Mark Nagler, Individual
- Ron Ross, Individual
- Tanya Wanio, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (rep by Donna Simmonds)
Support Unit
- Kevin Boehmer, Canadian Standards Association
- David Dilks, Lura Consulting
- Mike Dodd, Canadian Standards Association
- Nicki Islic, Canadian Standards Association
- Mansur Rahim, Ministry of Community and Social Services
- Nelly Tion, Ministry of Community and Social Services
- Danielle Belanger, Ministry of Community and Social Services
- Scot Weeres, Ministry of Community and Social Services
M14.1 Call to Order
A. Cormier (Chair) welcomed the members and called the 14th meeting of the Accessible Transportation Standards Development Committee (T-SDC) meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. on May 5, 2008.
M14.2 Housekeeping and Facility Safety
The Support Unit advised the T-SDC members about housekeeping matters and emergency procedures for the meeting.
M14.3 Meeting Objectives
The objectives of the 14th meeting, as defined in the agenda, included:
a) Examining the relationship between Ontario Human Rights legislation and the work of the T-SDC to develop an accessible transportation standard.
b) Reviewing T-SDC member comments on the Guiding Principles and the draft standard Scope.
c) Developing T-SDC Task Force workplans and beginning the Task Force process to consider public review comments and potential revisions to the draft standard.
d) Developing and approving the T-SDC workplan, to be presented to the Minister following the meeting.
M14.4 Administrative Matters
M14.4.1 Approval of the Meeting 14 Draft Agenda
The agenda was accepted as presented.
M14.4.2 Approval of the Meeting 13 Draft Minutes
The draft minutes to Meeting 13 were sent out on April 3, 2008 as document N027. Revised draft minutes were distributed as N027R1.
The following comments on the draft minutes were received:
- Add the following to M13.13 Process Review: The T-SDC requested that any materials to be discussed and reviewed at T-SDC Meetings, be sent out to all members well in advance, and in appropriate formats to ensure full participation.(R. Barnes)
- Correct organizational affiliation and consistency in how questions and answers are documented in M.8 and M.9. (G. Johnston)
The revised draft minutes to Meeting 13 were accepted as circulated (N027R1).
M14.4.3 Membership Review
The Chair reviewed the changes to the T-SDC membership, including:
- David Carroll of the Ontario Motor Coach Association and Ontario School Bus Association resigned from the committee.
- Lesley MacDonald of CNIB was replaced by Chris McLean.
- Alex Grant of HAGI Community Services for Independence has been replaced by Brenda Deck.
- Dan McKay resigned from the committee.
- Judith Sandys resigned from the committee.
M14.5 Ontario Human Rights Commission Presentation and Discussion
François Larsen, Director, Policy and Education Branch, OHRC made a presentation to the T-SDC on the Duty to Accommodate and Public Transportation.
A key objective of the presentation and the discussion that followed was to provide members with a better understanding of how the accessible transportation standard will relate (and not relate) to matters under Ontario’s human rights legislation.
Mr. Larsen reviewed:
- The Ontario Human Rights Code (OHRC), noting that the Code prevails over all other law
- Recent case law involving transportation and disability issues
- The relationship between the OHRC and transportation standard, noting that the AODA legislation will provide a mechanism through which organizations can bring themselves into compliance with the Code and the importance of harmonizing the standards with the Code to avoid confusion
- The Commission’s comments on the T-SDC’s initial proposed standard
- Costs of accommodating people with disabilities, including the standard of undue hardship
Mr. Larson answered questions from members and recommended that the T-SDC ensure that the proposed accessible transportation standards comply with the OHRC and associated case law. He noted that although integration into the public system is not always possible, the principle of integration must always be considered first and to the greatest extent possible. An alternative solution should only be sought if integration is determined to result in undue hardship.
Members raised the concern about legislation from other Ministries potentially not aligning with the Code. Mr. Larson noted that OHRC works with many relevant Ministries to assist in integrating OHRC principles where applicable. Members noted that it would be valuable to have all accessibility and human rights requirements and information available from a single source.
Members asked how the OHRC could continue to support the T-SDC. Mr. Larson noted that the OHRC provided a detailed submission with recommendations to the T-SDC and that they will continue to provide comments. He noted that the OHRC must remain neutral and cannot be part of the standards development process as it would pose a conflict of interest.
The ADO reviewed the history of AODA. The legislation states that where the AODA conflicts with other accessibility legislation, the highest level of accessibility prevails. Given that the statement of undue hardship is addressed in the Code, members were reminded that including an undue hardship requirement in the standard was not a viable solution. However, members were encouraged to consider the concept of undue hardship in the development of the requirements.
M14.6 T-SDC Member Comments on Scope and Guiding Principles
Comments on the Scope and Guiding Principles received from the T-SDC members were discussed. The comments received were distributed to members as document N047R3. The Support Unit’s suggestions on how to resolve comments were reviewed.
Members were reminded that the Guiding Principles were originally developed using a consensus process and the purpose of them is to provide a roadmap for developing the standard. They are intended to guide committee decisions made on technical requirements.
The discussion that followed included:
- Specific requirements and technical content (e.g., Classes) will be reviewed by the respective technical Task Forces
- Revised wording for the Flexibility and Phase-In principle will be developed
- The notion of “equal outcomes” will be included and an “equality” principles will be added
- Enforcement is beyond the mandate of the committee, however it will be highlighted in the letter to the Minister and a presentation will be made by the ADO to the T-SDC
- The terms “inclusive” and “integrated” will be considered in the definitions section of the standard
- The notion of “independence” will be added to the accessibility principle and included throughout technical requirements
- “Public transportation” will be replaced throughout the Guiding Principles with “passenger transportation”
- The intent that costs will not be borne by persons with disabilities will be emphasised
- The need to define a period of time for retrofit requirements and long life equipment was identified
- The need to identify opportunities to remove existing barriers and improve accessibility features of existing equipment was identified.
It was agreed that the Support Unit would consider all comments and discussions and prepare a revised Guiding Principles document. The revised document will be circulated to members in preparation for approval at Meeting 15.
M14.7 Potential Development of Meeting Communiqués
Other SDCs have been developing a communiqué at the end of each meeting that summarizes key meeting accomplishments. The communiqués are agreed to by the committee and made available for distribution to constituents.
The T-SDC agreed that this would be a useful way forward and a meeting communiqué was developed and approved at the end of the T-SDC meeting.
The communiqué may be used to share key meeting outcomes and next steps with the committee members’ organizations and constituencies.
It was agreed that the Support Unit will issue meeting communiqués immediately after each T-SDC meeting.
M14.8 Task Force Break-out Sessions
The following four Task Forces were established at Meeting 13:
- Training;
- Fixed Route/Public Transit
- On-demand Taxi
- Booked, School and Other Service
Prior to the break-out sessions, the committee reviewed and discussed the proposed objectives and approach. The objectives included:
a) Nomination of Task Force Convenors
b) Development and agreement to detailed Task Force workplans
c) Presentation of the recommended Task Force workplans to the T-SDC
d) Beginning implementation of workplan (eg, identification of key themes or issues from public review comments).
The four Task Forces met separately in break-out sessions to begin working on their respective tasks.
M14.9 Task Forces Reports
The Chair formally appointed the nominated Task Force Convenors for each of the four Task Forces:
- Training – Earl Black
- Fixed Route/Public Transit – Katrina Carrera
- On-demand Taxi – Lloyd Pollock
- Booked, School and Other Service – Valmay Barkey
Each Task Force presented a brief report on outcomes of their break-out session including their respective agreed to workplans. The full T-SDC was invited to comment on each of the Task Force workplans.
Below is a summary of the Task Force reports:
Training Task Force
The Training Task Force agreed to identify key issues, categorizes Public Review comments under the key issues, and then to review the specific comments. They noted that their work will be largely informed by the Customer Service standard and they will consider integrating general emergency procedures and roles and responsibilities into their section. The Task Force will meet to discuss comments and prepare a written recommendation that will be delivered to the full T-SDC for review by the end of July 2008.
Fixed Route and Public Transit Task Force
The Fixed Route and Public Transit Task Force will be circulating reference materials in order to provide background information to new members. The Task Force will review their section clause by clause and use SMART criteria as guiding criteria when considering the Public Review comments. The Task Force intends to refine their section based on comments received. Five Task Force meetings have been scheduled. The Task Force aims to deliver its recommendations by late-August 2008. Some members expressed concern that the Task Force workplan and meeting schedule were too aggressive.
On-Demand Taxi Task Force
The Support Unit will prepare an analysis of Public Review comments for the On-Demand Taxi Task Force to consider. The Task Force members plan to contact experts in the area of taxi/limousine from New York and invite them to participate in the Task Force Meeting. The Task Force intends to refine their section based on comments received and prepare a rationale report for circulation to the full T-SDC. One Task Force Meeting was scheduled.
Committee members suggested a review of cost-efficient solutions and recommended that the Task Force review Ottawa and Vancouver taxi bylaws for best practices.
School, Booked, and Other Task Force
The Support Unit will prepare a Public Review comment analysis and circulate it to the School, Booked, and Other Task Force. Small groups within the Task Force were assigned to each of the Clauses 8, 9, and 10. The Task Force noted the opportunity to reinforce the standard with policy requirements. Inline with the OHRC recommendations, the Task Force will continue to reinforce the importance of integration. The importance of consultation with the disability community and parents was also noted. The need to define the term “accessibility” through entire standard was identified.
M14.10 Development of the Work Plan
Key activities, deliverables, responsibilities, and schedules of the T-SDC and the Task Forces were discussed and agreed to for submission to the Minister. Some members reminded the committee that the workplan schedule was aggressive.
The approved workplan is presented in the table below:
| Meeting |
Key Objectives |
Meeting 14
May 6 & 7, 2008
|
- Agree to an approach to finalizing the Scope and Guiding Principles.
- Develop and agree to individual Task Force workplans.
- Appoint Task Force Convenors.
- Approve an overall T-SDC workplan for submission to the Minister.
- Discuss the potential establishment of an Editorial Task Force at Meeting 15 (improve presentation of classes and schedules, harmonization, terminology, edit for clarity etc.).
|
|
Between Meeting 14 and 15
- Work completed between May 8 and May 30
- Materials out by June 2 |
- Circulate final draft Guiding Principles for approval at Meeting 15.
- Implement Task Force workplans with Task Force Convenors.
- Four Task Forces consider public review comments and develop recommended draft standard text.
- On-demand and Booked, School and Other Task Forces deliver recommended draft standard text.
- Training and Fixed Route/Specialized Task Forces deliver brief progress reports.
- Develop detailed Terms of Reference for proposed Editorial Task Force work.
|
Meeting 15
June 16, 2008
|
- Get final approval of Guiding Principles.
- Report on Task Force progress/key issues.
- Reach preliminary agreement on On-demand and Booked, School and Other Task Force recommended draft standard text.
- Establish Editorial Task Force and agree to Terms of Reference.
- Reaffirm T-SDC and Task Force workplans.
|
|
Between Meeting 15 and 16
- Work completed between June 18 and August 27
- Materials out by August 27
|
- Training and Fixed Route/Specialized Task Forces continue to consider public review comments and develop recommended draft standard text.
- Training and Fixed Route/Specialized Task Forces deliver recommended draft standard text.
- Implement Editorial Task Force workplan with the Task Force Convenor.
|
Meeting 16
September 10 & 11, 2008 |
- Report on Task Force progress/key issues.
- Reach preliminary agreement on Training and Fixed Route/Specialized recommended draft standard text.
- Agree to final direction given to Editorial Task Force in preparing final draft proposed standard.
- Agree to initial Minister’s letter content and process for preparing draft.
- Reaffirm T-SDC and Task Force workplans.
|
|
Between Meeting 16 and 17
- Work completed between September 12 and October 14
- Materials out by October 15 (2 weeks prior).
|
- Editorial Task Force completes final draft proposed standard (by September 26).
- Revised costing estimates are completed.
- Distribute final draft proposed standard and comment template to members for constituent review and comment (September 29 to October 10).
- Compile, sort and distribute member comments (by October 15).
- Prepare draft Minister’s letter (by October 15).
|
|
Meeting 17
October 29 & 30, 2008 |
- Consider T-SDC member comments on the final draft proposed standard.
- Revise, as necessary, final draft proposed standard text.
- Administer recorded vote to approve the final draft proposed standard for submittal to the Minister.
- Review and agree to the Minister’s letter.
|
It was recommended that feedback be sought from the full T-SDC and the respective constituents on Task Force work. Members were reminded that the formal mechanism for involving the full committee was for the Task Forces to circulate proposals to the full committee 2 weeks in advance of meeting where decision will be made. Members were encouraged to communicate with constituents throughout the entire process.