This newsletter is available in alternate formats on request.
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Promoting a Greater Understanding of Disability Issues
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International Day of Persons with Disabilities is recognized annually by the Manitoba government. Proclaimed in 1992, by the United Nations General Assembly, International Day of Persons with Disabilities promotes an understanding of disability issues and calls for supporting the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities.
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Each year, Manitoba joins people across the world in promoting the rights and well-being of people with disabilities in every aspect of life, including political, social, economic and cultural.
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FREE WEBINAR: Building Parks for Everyone and Inclusive Recreation and Sport in Manitoba
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In celebration of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the Manitoba Accessibility Office will be hosting a webinar on December 3 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. This exciting presentation features two speakers with a passion for improving accessibility both in recreational activities and inclusive sports. Join the Manitoba Accessibility Office to learn how Manitoba Parks are becoming more accessible for all and hear from a local para-athlete on his journey to overcome systematic barriers and challenges in sport.
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This webinar will have accessibility measures such as American Sign Language interpretation (ASL) and live closed captioning.
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The webinar recording will be made available to those unable to participate in real-time on AccessibilityMB.ca.
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Manitoba Government Makes Province More Accessible
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Municipalities, Non-Profits, Businesses, Educational Institutions Across Manitoba Receive Funding to Help Eliminate Barriers, Enhance Accessibility: Fontaine
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The Manitoba government is providing over $800,000 in funding to 37 organizations to remove barriers and improve accessibility across Manitoba, Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine, minister responsible for accessibility, announced on November 18.
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“Our government is committed to making Manitoba more accessible for everyone, and I’m proud of the many groups across the province who have stepped up to join us in this work,” said Fontaine. “The Manitoba Accessibility Fund helps to make sure a wide variety of organizations can take on a wide variety of projects to remove barriers and enhance access for the people they serve.”
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The Manitoba Accessibility Fund, managed by The Winnipeg Foundation, provides grant funding to help Manitoba organizations remove barriers, create awareness and support compliance with the Accessibility for Manitobans Act and its standards.
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Funded projects must fulfil one of three objectives including:
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- raise awareness about the prevention and removal of barriers
- develop tools, resources and training to support compliance with legislated standards
- remove barriers to information and communication electronically, in print and in person
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One of this year’s recipients is The Forks North Portage Partnership, receiving nearly $35,000 to assist with an on-site audit review of the accessibility of their summer and winter programming.
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“As an inclusive all-season gathering place, it’s our priority to ensure everyone can access and enjoy the amenities we work with the community to offer,” says Sara Stasiuk, president and chief executive officer, The Forks North Portage Partnership. “Funds from the Manitoba Accessibility Fund grant will immediately go to work supporting The Forks’ accessibility audit. We are extremely thankful to the Manitoba Accessibility Fund to support our work, so we can best serve everyone in our community.”
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This is the third year the Manitoba government has funded accessibility projects through the Manitoba Accessibility Fund grant program. Since its inception, nearly $2.5 million has been awarded.
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For more information on accessibility in Manitoba and to view the full list of the 2024-25 recipients of the Manitoba Accessibility Fund, visit AccessibilityMB.ca.
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2024 Manitoba Accessibility Award
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The Manitoba Accessibility Awards celebrate Manitoba businesses and organizations and their achievements in amplifying accessibility within the province. The Manitoba Accessibility Office is excited to bring back the awards for 2024 and recognize a past Manitoba Accessibility Fund recipient.
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This year’s recipient, Abilities Manitoba, is recognized for their leadership and dedication to making Manitoba more accessible and inclusive while raising awareness of the Accessibility for Manitobans Act. The award was presented to Abilities Manitoba for their campaign titled, Barrier Town, during the Manitoba Accessibility Fund event held at The Forks Market on November 18.
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Through this dynamic social media campaign, Abilities Manitoba enhanced awareness of the Accessibility for Manitobans Act and reached over 65,000 viewers online. The Barrier Town campaign is made up of a series of short videos, informative one-page resources and a dedicated web page. The campaign uses humour to depict a fictional town where people with disabilities face barriers in their daily lives. The campaign employed individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to share insight into their lived experiences.
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Photo Description: Abilities Manitoba team members accepting the Manitoba Accessibility Award from the Honourable Nahanni Fontaine, minister responsible for accessibility.
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Congratulations to Abilities Manitoba for driving positive change in disability awareness.
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Spotlight on a Manitoba Accessibility Fund Project
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This month, the Manitoba Accessibility Fund is proud to spotlight Klinic Community Health, a previous grant recipient.
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Klinic Community Health is a not-for-profit healthcare centre providing services out of various sites across the province. We promote health and quality of life for people of every age, background, ethnicity, ability, gender identity and socio-economic circumstance. We specialize in providing medical and counselling services to marginalized communities and those that have significant mental health, disability or addiction issues. Many of our clients experience systemic as well as physical barriers to care. In July of 2020, we moved into a new larger facility on Sherbrook Street. During our move, we became more aware of our accessibility responsibilities and requirements. After our move, we received feedback from our staff and clients that they were experiencing barriers in accessing our building, facilities and services.
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Photo Caption: Two members of the community visiting the new larger facility on Sherbrook Street.
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Made possible through support from the Manitoba Accessibility Fund, we engaged the Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities (MLPD) to conduct an accessibility review for our organization and facility.
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There were four aspects to the review:
- physical, in-person review of the Klinic space by community members
- focus groups with Klinic staff and a staff survey
- review of our documents including training materials
- client/patient feedback
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The process of having the accessibility review, and the collaborative way the review was conducted, raised the awareness of our need for accessibility with our staff and stakeholders. We received a comprehensive report with over 100 recommendations on how to improve the accessibility of our facility, staff and volunteer policies and practices and our service delivery.
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The recommendations will take time and resources to complete, but by receiving this funding and partnering with MLPD to conduct the review, the improvements we make will positively impact Klinic Community Health and those we serve for years to come.
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~Article submitted by Klinic Community Health.
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Individuals May Request a Large Employer’s Written Accessible Employment Policy
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As an employee or prospective employee in Manitoba, did you know that large employers (meaning organizations with 50 or more employees) are required to have a written accessible employment policy? The Accessible Employment Standard Regulation came into force for organizations in all sectors on May 1, 2022. Its numbered sections identify the written policy requirements that help employers to provide reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities.
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You can ask to see a large employer’s accessible employment policy to find out how they accommodate employees with disabilities.
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Each numbered section of the Accessible Employment Standard Regulation identifies a part of accessibility required to facilitate reasonable workplace accommodations for employees and prospective employees in Manitoba. They include but are not limited to:
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- offering reasonable accommodations when recruiting new employees
- informing applicants about workplace accommodation policies and practices when making an offer of employment
- training management and staff with human resource responsibilities about accessible employment and related legislation
- requiring management to consider workplace accommodations to remove a barrier affecting an employee’s performance
- considering workplace accommodations to remove a barrier that may affect an employee’s opportunities for training and advancement
- letting employees know about accessible employment policies and practices, including updates
- having a policy and process to determine reasonable workplace accommodations when an employee is returning to work after illness or injury
- developing and implementing individual accommodation plans for employees upon request
- offering accessible formats and communication supports to employees, upon request
- creating emergency response information to help employees stay safe during emergencies
- asking employees who require assistance for permission to share information with individuals who agree to help
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If you are a person disabled by barriers, the regulation states that you may request the large employer’s policy information in an alternate format.
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Remember: Although organizations with fewer than 50 employees are not required to write down their accessible employment policies, those with at least one employee in Manitoba are still required to follow the regulation’s requirements and provide reasonable accommodations to employees or prospective employees who are temporarily or permanently disabled by barriers.
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The Manitoba Theatre for Young People is among 37 recipients of a provincial accessibility grant that will enable them to implement American Sign Language interpreters for Deaf and hard of hearing patrons, and audio description services for blind and low vision patrons.
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The recipients include municipalities, non-profit organizations and businesses who can receive up to $50,000 through the Manitoba Accessibility Fund for a project that works to remove barriers, create awareness and support compliance under the Accessibility for Manitobans Act, which was introduced in 2013.
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At a ceremony on Oct. 16, the Canadian Disability Hall of Fame welcomed three new inductees: Penny Bennett, Tim Rose and Francis Roussel. The event, presented by CIBC, included a tribute by Ben Mulroney to his late father, Brian Mulroney, who was inducted in 2018 for helping to improve the lives of people with disabilities. It was hosted by award-winning CBC Sports broadcaster Rob Snoek.
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On November 6, Statistics Canada released the latest data on Canadian Veterans with Disabilities. According to the 2022 data, almost half (46%) of Veterans in Canada had at least one disability. Veterans aged 65 and over had the highest rate.
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