Accessibility Policy

When communicating with a person with a disability, WSPS will do so in a manner that takes into account the person's disability. WSPS commits to provide training on customer service to all current and future employees, volunteers and contractors. This training will include how to interact and communicate with persons with various types of disabilities.

In the event of a service disruption, WSPS will take reasonable steps to report such disruption in a timely fashion through appropriate information channels. Such channels include, but are not limited to, WSPS's website, physical postings and/or communication via email or phone call to affected individuals. The required information necessary for any communication of a temporary disruption may include:

• The time, date and location of the disruption;
• Information about the reason for the disruption;
• Anticipated duration of the disruption; and
• Descriptions of alternative facilities or services, if any.

Personal assistive devices are permitted in all WSPS offices or training facilities except when subject to operator safety. WSPS will train its current and future employees, volunteers and contractors on the use of various assistive devices available at WSPS. It should be noted that the provision, use and safety of personal assistive devices is the responsibility of the person with a disability.

Persons with a disability who are accompanied by a service animal may access premises owned and operated by WSPS provided the public has access to such premises and the animal is not otherwise excluded by law. If a service animal is excluded by law, WSPS will ensure that alternate means are available within reasonable time and location to provide persons with a disability access to WSPS's services.

There may be rare circumstances where, for reasons of health and safety of another person, allowing a person with a disability to enter a premises accompanied by a service animal needs to be considered. An example of such a situation may include where a person is allergic to animals and adversely affected if they are in close proximity to a service animal. If deemed necessary, a risk assessment will be conducted by the WSPS Representative. The risk assessment will include identifying the risks inherent with the service animal being in the area of concern and identify alternate measures available to enable the person with a disability to access the service.

If it is not readily apparent that an animal is a service animal, the WSPS Representative may ask the person with the service animal to provide verification of the animal's duty. The use, safety and clean up of the service animal is the responsibility of the person with a disability.

Support Persons

WSPS welcomes customers who are accompanied by a support person, when the support person has been hired or chosen by the person with a disability to accompany them in order to assist in accessing goods or services and/or for the purpose of providing support with mobility, personal assistance and/or communication.
Individuals who are accompanied by a support person are encouraged to inform relevant WSPS persons of their participation.

There may be rare circumstances where, for reasons of health and safety, allowing a person with a disability to enter a premises accompanied by their support person needs to be considered. Examples of such situations include potential fire code violations. If deemed necessary, a risk assessment will be conducted by the WSPS Representative. The risk assessment will include identifying the risks inherent with the support person being in the area of concern and identify alternate measures available to enable the person with a disability to access the service.

Support persons shall be permitted entry to all WSPS facilities and meeting rooms that are open to the public. Where there are admission fees for an event or training session organized by WSPS, persons with a disability shall be expected to pay the same fee as other attendees, but no admission fee shall be charged to their support person.

Please note that Support Persons will not receive certification or documentation of course completion for although they have attended a training session, they are not considered an active participant.

Feedback about the delivery of services to persons with disabilities is welcomed, as it may identify areas that require change and assist in continuous service improvement. Such feedback may be by telephone, in person, in writing or by email. WSPS will make best efforts to provide a response in the same format in which the feedback was received.

Where possible, feedback will be addressed immediately. Some feedback may, however, require more effort to address and may need to be reviewed before an action is taken. WSPS will respond within 21 working days.

Feedback may be submitted using the WSPS Customer Feedback form or by emailing our Customer Care Manager at accessibilityfeedback@wsps.ca.

Upon receipt, a WSPS manager, member of the customer care’s team or a designated WSPS representative will review the feedback and complete an investigation into any concerns or complaints. Corrective action will be taken as deemed necessary. Customers that provide feedback identifying concerns or complaints regarding the provision of services or goods to persons with disabilities, will receive acknowledgement of receipt of their feedback along with a summary of any action taken by WSPS in response. Information about WSPS's feedback process will be made available to all customers upon request.

Please note that WSPS will provide documents in suitable accessible format, if requested by using the Accessible Information and Communication Support form.