Manitoba’s universities and colleges work together to support Accessibility for Manitobans Act

Brandon University (BU) is joining with Manitoba’s other post-secondary education institutions to improve accessibility.

In response to new standards for customer service set recently under the Accessibility for Manitobans Act (AMA), BU has formed a committee with Assiniboine Community College, Canadian Mennonite University, the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology, Red River College, St. Boniface University, University College of the North, the University of Manitoba and the University of Winnipeg to discuss how to best meet the requirements. Manitoba’s public, private and non-profit organizations are all obligated to meet the new customer-service standards within two years. They are the first of five sets of new accessibility standards to be released under the AMA.

“As part of meeting these customer-service standards Brandon University will develop an accessibility plan to be released in 2016,” said Sharon Hooper, BU’s director of human resources. “A steering committee and sub-committees are being set up with the mandate of providing accessibility and reasonable accommodation in all of our programs for students with disabilities and educating faculty and staff.”

The institutions will meet multiple times per year to share ideas and resources. The Council of Ontario Universities has also agreed to share training materials on standards implemented by its members.

“We are very pleased that the post-secondary institutions are working collaboratively on the new customer-service standard,” said Yutta Fricke, acting executive director of Manitoba’s Disabilities Issues Office. “Our goal is to have a fully accessible province, where all abilities are valued, diversity celebrated, barriers removed and human rights protected.”

To read Manitoba’s AMA, or to learn more about accessibility in Manitoba, visit the website of the province’s Disabilities Issues Office.

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