Accessibility Policy

1. PURPOSE

Planado is committed to maintaining an accessible environment for persons with disabilities. We will use reasonable efforts to ensure that our policies, practices and procedures governing the provision of our services to persons with disabilities are consistent with the following principles:

• Services are provided in a way that respects the dignity and independence of persons with disabilities;
• Persons with disabilities are able to benefit from the same services and in a similar way as other staff or visitors; and
• Persons with disabilities have opportunities equal to others to obtain, use and benefit from Planado’s services.

2. PROVIDING GOODS AND SERVICES TO PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

We are committed to excellence in serving all visitors, including persons with disabilities, and will carry out our functions and responsibilities by:

• Communicating with persons with disabilities in ways that take into account their disability.
• Serving persons with disabilities who use assistive devices. If any such device presents a significant/unavoidable health of safety concern or may not be permitted for other reasons, other measures will be used.
• Ensuring that persons with disabilities who are accompanied by their guide dog or other service animals are permitted to enter the premises of Plando with the animal and to keep the animal with them, unless the animal is excluded by law from the premises. If Planado cannot easily identify that an animal is a service animal, Planado staff may ask a person to provide documentation from a regulated health professional confirming that the person needs the service animal for reasons related to their disability.

3. DEFINITIONS

For the purposes of this policy: “Disability” means:

• Any degree of physical disability and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, a brain injury, any degree of paralysis, amputation, visual, hearing or speech impediment, or physical reliance on a service animal or on a wheelchair or other device;
• A condition of cognitive impairment or a developmental disability;
• A learning disability, or an impairment in one or more of the processes involved in understanding or using symbols or spoken language;

“Service animal” means an animal accompanying a person with disabilities where it is readily apparent that the animal is used by the person for reasons relating to their disability or where the person provides a letter from a regulated health professional confirming that they require the animal for reasons relating to the disability. This definition includes guide dogs used by the blind or visually impaired.

Support person means, in relation to a person with disabilities, another person who accompanies them in order to help with communication, mobility, personal care or medical needs or with access to goods and services.

4. NOTICE OF TEMPORARY DISRUPTION

Planado will notify the public promptly in the event of a planned or unexpected disruption in the facilities or services usually used by persons with disabilities. This notice will include information about the reason for the disruption, its anticipated duration, and a description of alternative facilities or services, if available. Notice will be posted on the doors of the device (i.e. elevator door), or communicated by such method as is reasonable in the circumstances.

5. TRAINING FOR STAFF

Planado will train its staff and other individuals who provide services to the public on Planado’s behalf on the provision of its services to persons with disabilities. This policy will also be shared as soon as practicable with new hires. Planado’s training will include the following topics:

The purposes of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 and the requirements of the customer service standard;

• How to interact and communicate with persons with various types of disabilities;
• How to interact with persons with disabilities who use an assistive device or require the assistance of a service animal or a support person;
• What to do if a person with a particular type of disability is having difficulty in accessing Planado’s services;
• This policy.

Planado will provide training when changes are made to Planado's policies, practices and procedures governing the provision of services to persons with disabilities.

6. FEEDBACK PROCESS

Planado welcomes any feedback regarding the methods we use to provide services to persons with disabilities. Individuals may provide their feedback by e-mail to: accessibility@planadoapp.com

Planado will review and assess all feedback received with respect to Planado's accessibility practices and policies. If the feedback is in the nature of a complaint, the comment(s) or allegation(s) will be investigated, unless they are made in bad faith, or are frivolous or vexatious.

When investigating complaints, those staff who directly interacted with the complainant or those who would typically interact with the complainant, if any, will be asked to comment on the allegation(s) made in the complaint. After reviewing and investigating a complaint, Planado will provide a written response to the individual who provided the feedback. Responses shall be provided within a reasonable amount of time and will depend on the complexity of the issues raised.

7. MODIFICATIONS TO THIS POLICY

Modifications to this or other policies Changes will not be made to this policy unless the impact of the changes on persons with disabilities has been considered. Any Planado policy that does not respect and promote the dignity, independence and equal opportunity of persons with disabilities will be modified or removed.

8. REQUESTS FOR AODA COMPLIANCE DOCUMENTS

Upon request, Planado shall provide a copy of this policy to any person. When a request for this policy is received, Planado will provide the document or information in a format that takes into account the requestor’s accessibility requirements.