Accessibility Statement for The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada

Statement of Commitment to Accessibility                           

The Congregation of the Corporation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada is committed to providing a barrier-free environment for our Sisters, visitors, employees, job applicants, suppliers, and other stakeholders who enter our premises or access our information. As an organization, we respect and uphold the requirements set forth under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (2005), Customer Service Standard, and the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation for Information and Communications, Employment, and Transportation, and for the Built Environment. 

Approximately 1.8 million Ontarians lives with a disability, and as the population grows older, this number will also increase. Our organization has made a commitment to accessibility for everyone who enters our premises as this reflects our care for the dear neighbour, and it is also a legal obligation. Our organization has an important responsibility for ensuring a safe, dignified, and welcoming environment for everyone. We are committed to ensuring our organization’s compliance with accessibility legislation by incorporating policies, procedures, equipment requirements, training for employees, and best practices. We will review these policies and practices annually. We are committed to reviewing and incorporating the following information with our employees:

·         Legislation regarding the Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005.

·         Integrated Accessibility Standards for Information and Communications, Employment, and Transportation.

·         Standards for the Built Environment.

·         Accessible employment practices such as recruitment, assessment, and selection.

·         Developing emergency response plans and individual workplace accommodation plans for employees with disabilities.

·         Customer service standards.

·         Accessible communication supports and information formats (both digital and non-digital).

·         Communicating with people with various forms of disabilities.

·         Accessible websites and web content.

·         Assistive devices, mobility aids, service animals and support persons.

·         Notices of service disruptions (temporary or long-term).

·         Our relevant policies and procedures regarding accessibility.

·         Reporting procedures.

·         Training procedures.

The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada realizes that providing accessible and barrier-free environments for everyone is a shared effort. As a community, all businesses and services must work together to make accessibility happen. For more detailed information on our accessibility policies, plans, and training programs, please contact the Director of Human Resources.

Measures to support accessibility

The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada takes the following measures to ensure accessibility of the website:

  • Provide continual accessibility training for our staff.

  • Welcome people with disabilities in our archives practicum program.

  • Provide a wheelchair accessible site with elevators.

Conformance status

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) defines requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. It defines three levels of conformance: Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA. The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada Archives is partially conformant with WCAG 2.1 level AA. Partially conformant means that some parts of the content do not fully conform to the accessibility standard.

Feedback

We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada. Please let us know if you encounter accessibility barriers on The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada Website:

We try to respond to feedback within up to 5 business days.

Compatibility with browsers and assistive technology

The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada is designed to be compatible with the following assistive technologies:

  • Browser Firefox or Chrome with assistive text to speech recognition software on Windows or Apple computer operating systems.

Technical specifications

Accessibility of The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada relies on the following technologies to work with the particular combination of web browser and any assistive technologies or plugins installed on your computer:

  • HTML

  • CSS

These technologies are relied upon for conformance with the accessibility standards used.

Limitations and alternatives

Despite our best efforts to ensure accessibility of The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada website, there may be some limitations. Below is a description of known limitations, and potential solutions. Please contact us if you observe an issue not listed below.

Known limitations for The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada:

  1. PDF and PowerPoint: Uploaded PDF and PowerPoint documents may not be WCAG 2.1 compliant, for example, may lack alt text or have structure element errors related to headings, figures, and tables. We are striving to make all future documents conform to WCAG 2.1. PDF documents should be downloaded and read with a screen reader such as NVDA for a Windows 7 and higher operating systems. It can be downloaded here: NVDA screen reader

  2. Transcripts of audiotapes without audio: In some cases, audio is not provided with transcripts of the recordings because the audio had issues related to the recording process which made it difficult to share. We are striving to ensure our recording processes are improved in the future, as well as our audio editing capacity. Please use text to speech software to read the transcripts provided.

Assessment approach

The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada assessed the accessibility of The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada by the following approaches:

  • Self-evaluation

Formal complaints

If you are unable to use the website due to any accessibility issues, please contact Dorothy Freymond.

Formal approval of this accessibility statement

This Accessibility Statement is approved by:

The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada

Dorothy Freymond
Director of Human Resources
Administrator, Peterborough and
Pembroke Neighbourhoods
1-705-745-1309 ext 503