This newsletter is available in alternate formats on request.
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Ensure Your Event This Summer Is Accessible to Everyone
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Summer is finally upon us in Manitoba, providing us with an opportunity to take advantage of the warmer weather and with that the start of festivals and community events. If your organization is planning an event this summer, are you taking the appropriate steps to ensure the event offers accessible customer service?
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Know Your Role in Providing Excellent Accessible Customer Service
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A legal requirement in Manitoba since 2015, the Accessible Customer Service Standard Regulation requires organizations, including businesses, with at least one employee in Manitoba to create policies and procedures that help achieve respectful, barrier-free customer service. This includes providing the following accommodations to your customers:
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- meeting the communication needs of your customers, clients or members
- allowing assistive devices, such as wheelchairs, walkers and oxygen tanks
- welcoming support people, who are there to assist
- welcoming people with service animals
- ensuring accessibility is maintained as intended (ramps, wide aisles, removal of clutter)
- letting customers know when accessible features and services are not available
- inviting your customers to provide feedback
- training your staff on accessible customer service, including reasonable accommodations under The Human Rights Code (Manitoba)
- large employers with 50 employees or more must document (in-print) their customer service policy
- large employers with 50 employees or more must also provide notice that their customer service policy is available in accessible formats, on request
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Ensuring that your business follows these practices allows everyone the opportunity to enjoy summer activities and everyday life.
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Celebrate Disability Pride Month this July
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Globally recognized each July, Disability Pride Month is a movement of empowerment and visibility for people with disabilities. Many community members and advocates take this month to celebrate the contributions of people with disabilities, speak out against societal barriers and promote disability visibility, inclusion and positive self-identity within the disability community.
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Disability Pride Month acknowledges the ongoing fight for disability rights, while reflecting on the multiple intersecting identities within the community. These cross-sections are represented in the Disability Pride Month flag, created by Ann Magill. Originally designed in 2019, Ann updated the flag in 2021 to have muted colours and straight diagonal stripes, after receiving feedback from the community. The flag is used at various events around the world to recognize the month.
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The symbolism of the Disability Pride Month flag:
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- All six flag colors: Disability spans borders between nations
- Black background: Mourning for victims of ableist violence and abuse
- Diagonal Band: Cutting across the walls and barriers that separate disabled people from society
- Red Stripe: Physical disabilities
- Gold Stripe: Neurodivergence
- White Stripe: Non-apparent and undiagnosed disabilities
- Blue Stripe: Psychiatric disabilities
- Green Stripe: Sensory disabilities
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Disability Pride Month and the many cross-sections presented in the Disability Pride flag advocate for an inclusive society that ensures barrier-free accessibility for everyone.
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Spotlight on a Manitoba Accessibility Fund Project
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This month, the Manitoba Accessibility Fund (MAF) is proud to spotlight the Boyne Regional Library, a previous MAF grant recipient.
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The Boyne Regional Library
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The Boyne Regional Library promotes literacy and lifelong learning while fostering community connection in Carman, Manitoba. The library serves as a welcoming and inclusive place, providing access to a broad range of resources and services. We are committed to ensuring that all individuals, regardless of age or ability, can engage with reading and information in a meaningful and accessible way.
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The Making Reading and Information Accessible to All project was funded by the Manitoba Accessibility Fund. It aimed to eliminate barriers to literacy and information for individuals with diverse abilities and disabilities. Key activities included purchasing alternate format materials such as talking books, large print, digital magazines and dyslexia-friendly books. We also purchased tools to access alternate formats including Victor Reader Straus and Envoy Connect devices. Staff participated in training, workshops and webinars focused on accessibility and inclusion. Consultations with rights holders and organizations like The Canadian National Institute for the Blind and The Centre for Equitable Access and Dyslexia Canada guided the selection of resources to ensure that they met the needs of users of all ages and abilities.
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Photo: A portion of our collection of Wonderbooks. Wonderbooks are books with a built-in audio player that reads the story aloud that requires no access to the internet, allowing children to listen and follow along with the printed text. They are especially useful for children with disabilities, supporting various learning styles and helping to remove barriers to literacy.
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The project significantly enhanced accessibility by providing a variety of accessible reading formats and improving staff knowledge and confidence in supporting patrons with various disabilities. Moving forward, the library is committed to continuous learning and engagement with rights holders. We plan to further improve digital accessibility, expand inclusive programming and ensure that all library communications and services meet the standards of The Accessibility for Manitobans Act.
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~ Article submitted by the Boyne Regional Library
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Accessible Formats and Communication Supports - What to Know
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What is an Accessible Format?
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Accessible formats provide information in a way that is accessible to persons disabled by barriers. They are also referred to as alternate formats and may include:
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- large print
- Braille
- recorded audio
- text transcripts of audio/visual information
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What is a Communication Support?
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Communication supports facilitate communication between two or more people and help organizations to effectively communicate with a wide audience. They include but are not limited to:
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- sign language interpretation
- screen reader technology
- captions
- video relay services
- adaptive or assistive technology
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What should your Business or Organization know about Accessible Formats and Communication supports?
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Under section five of the Accessible information and Communication Standard Regulation, organizations have a duty to notify. This means organizations must inform the public and their employees that they will provide information through an accessible format or communication support, upon request.
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When an individual makes a request for an organization to provide information through an accessible format or communication support, the organization must:
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- consult with the individual to identify the support or format that would remove the barrier
- provide the information through the identified support or format in a timely manner
- not charge a fee that is greater than one imposed on a person who did not make a request for an accessible format or a communication support
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Remember: Some exceptions may apply under specific circumstances. For certainty, please refer directly to the regulation.
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Canada's new disability benefit is a program that provides eligible people with up to $200 a month and is now open for applications. The program is available to people with disabilities between the ages of 18 and 64 who already have been approved for the disability tax credit. The government says payments are set to begin in July.
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It sounds like something from a futuristic film: Technology that allows users to control their environment with mere thoughts. But for kids with disabilities like 10-year-old Irelynn in Ontario, it’s an emerging reality that’s helping them connect with the world around them in unprecedented ways.
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Accessibility is about far more than wheelchair ramps or live captioning. The field has emerged as a bustling innovation hub, an educational imperative and—unapologetically—an untapped business opportunity.
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Accessibility Standards Canada Launches Its Advancing Accessibility Standards Research Program
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This program supports building a more accessible Canada. The program provides funding for research projects that inform the development of next-generation accessibility standards. These are model standards for federally regulated entities and organizations. Projects must also help identify, remove and prevent obstacles to accessibility.
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Before submitting an Expression of Interest, please visit Accessibility Standards Canada’s website to review the information and confirm your eligibility. You must submit your expression of interest by August 15, 2025, at 3 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time). Only selected programs will be invited to submit a detailed application for funding.
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Upcoming Awareness Celebrations
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