Accessibility Matters: Meet Your Legal Obligations, Make Your Clients Happy and Get More Referrals

Accessibility Matters: 

Meet Your Legal Obligations, Make Your Clients Happy and Get More Referrals

MPI Ottawa is a CMP Preferred Provider. The program(s) identified with the CMP Preferred Provider logo meet the requirements to receive continuing education (CE) credit for the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) credential.  The use of the CMP Preferred Provider Course logo is not an endorsement by the Events Industry Council of the quality of the session. For more information about the CMP credential or CMP Preferred Provider Program, please visit www.EventsCouncil.org.

In Ontario, as in several other provinces, all organizations with one or more employees must meet some minimum accessibility standards. The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) requires you to, for instance, train all part-time, full-time, seasonal and contract staff on the AODA, as well as develop policies on the AODA standards.

This session will clarify your legal obligations, provide you with guidance on how to become compliant with the law, and offer tips and best practices on how to become more inclusive, such as in your communications and marketing materials for events, way finding, etc. Hear what your peers are doing to make their businesses and events more inclusive and get suggestions from them on how to tackle the accessibility issues you are facing.

Make accessibility a business advantage that matters!

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the workshop, participants will:

• Understand their legal obligations for offering accessible events and services

• Identify the work they need to do to meet, and exceed, existing accessibility laws

• Get an opportunity ask to questions of an accessibility expert

• Learn practical and easy to implement accessibility best practices

• Receive assistance in resolving accessibility challenges/barriers

• Identify how to gain an edge on competitors through increased accessibility

• Network with peers to share success stories

• Get resources and tips on how to create more inclusive meetings, conference and events

Constance Exley, Accessibility Ontario

Constance Exley is the CEO of Accessibility Ontario, an education and training organization that helps organizations of all types meet their provincial accessibility compliance requirements. Accessibility Ontario offers AODA online training, website accessibility audits, document remediation, and hands-on training on how to make accessible documents, websites, and mobile apps.

Constance has worked in collaboration with the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario (Government of Ontario) for many years and is currently leading two year-long education initiatives – one with the  Ontario BIA Association and the other with the Ontario Camps Association. To learn more about Constance and Accessibility Ontario, visit www.AccessOntario.com