During the Coronavirus pandemic, Clearview Township would like to acknowledge National AccessAbility Week from May 31 to June 6, 2020.

Each year, during National AccessAbility Week, Canadians are encouraged to think about the barriers people with disabilities face and to find ways to help remove them.  During a global pandemic, barriers can often be increased, but in other ways, this pandemic may open the door for creative ways to make the world more accessible for people with disabilities. 

2020 marks the fifteenth anniversary of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA). During this time, public, private and non-profit organizations across Ontario have been working together to improve the everyday lives of people with disabilities.

History of National Accessibility Awareness Week:

• Ontario became the first jurisdiction in Canada to legislate a framework and timeline for making Ontario accessible. The goal of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) is to make Ontario fully accessible by 2025.
• National AccessAbility Week was established in 1987 following Rick Hansen's 40,000 km Man in Motion World Tour,  "As part of the legacy of the Man in Motion World Tour, the Rick Hansen Foundation provided strategic leadership to create and implement National AccessAbility Week (NAAW) in partnership with federal and provincial governments across the country. The purpose of the program was to promote better community access for people with disabilities."   - Rick Hansen Foundation.

Its important to realize what accessibility means to our province – socially and economically. If people with disabilities cannot fully participate in our communities, we are missing out on our potential. Accessibility is also about making everyone in our communities feel welcome. And don’t forget our seniors. Through the natural ageing process, they may begin to experience barriers to everyday living that they once took for granted.

Clearview Township is an Inclusive Community 

In Clearview Township, National AccessAbility Week is an opportunity to highlight accessibility awareness at the local level and an opportunity to acknowledge the work that is being done across the Township to improve accessibility.

Some of the accomplished improvements made in Clearview are:

• Traffic lights in Stayner enhanced for the visually impaired
• Access to a Mobi-Lift purchased by neighbouring community
• Accessible doors at the Stayner Arena
• Portable Hearing Loop purchased and available to enhance hearing abilities

Thank You to Our Accessibility Advisory Committee

Clearview Township has a successful Accessibility Advisory Committee that meets monthly with open sessions that anyone can attend, or in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, view on Clearview Township’s YouTube Channel.  The schedule of upcoming meetings as well as previous agenda and meeting minutes can be viewed at www.clearview.ca/accessibility-advisory-committee.

If any member of the community has any comments, questions or concerns regarding accessibility matters in Clearview, they are welcome to contact any Accessibility Advisory Committee member or share their comments/questions/feedback by telephone, in writing or by email.  All contact information can be found at, www.clearview.ca/accessibility-advisory-committee  

For more information please contact:

Tammy Gill
Human Resources Manager
Clearview Township
(705) 428-6230 ext. 255
tgill@clearview.ca