Accessibility plan | Transport Gariepy

Summary

Transport Gariépy (Canada) Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Transport Gariépy) is a federally regulated company and, therefore, governed by the Accessible Canada Act and its regulations. The goal of this legislation is to make Canada a barrier-free country by January 2040.

The Accessible Canada Act is federal legislation that was created to identify, remove and prevent the barriers that people with disabilities face every day. Passed in 2019, the main objective of this legislation is to create a Canada free of these barriers by 2040. As such, the law requires federally regulated employers with 100 or more employees to prepare and publish an initial accessibility plan by June 1, 2023. The deadline for employers with 10 to 99 employees is June 1, 2024.

Transport Gariépy is therefore committed to building a culture of inclusion and accessibility since it is part of our corporate culture. This is critical to our growth and competitiveness as an employer in the trucking industry. We will help remove barriers for all by providing an accessibility framework that will ensure that the employees and public we serve have the best possible experience with our services, products and facilities.

Creating a barrier-free environment cannot happen overnight. For this reason, we are committed to identifying, removing, and preventing barriers on an ongoing basis. Transport Gariépy will build on the efforts we are already making during the development of our initial accessibility plan, as required by the Accessible Canada Act. This plan will guide our organization in achieving its accessibility goals and creating an inclusive culture of trust.

By mutual agreement, we seek to identify, remove and prevent barriers for people with disabilities in our workplace in order to develop, monitor and improve our accessibility plan.

This allows us to identify, remove and prevent barriers for people
with disabilities and ensure that we meet the requirements of the law.

In an industry that is one of the most competitive, truck transportation remains an essential service in everyday life and yet, few people recognize the importance of our industry. It is up to us, truckers and employees, especially at Transport Gariépy, to change this perception in order to stand out from the competition through simple actions that are most effective.

Transport Gariépy has always stood out for its politeness,
courtesy, friendliness, openness and professionalism. Our desire is to
do the same in terms of accessibility.

Commitment to accessibility

Transport Gariépy is committed to ensuring equality and accessibility for people with disabilities. We are committed to treating all people with respect in a way that ensures their dignity and independence. We will do this by removing and preventing barriers to accessibility and meeting all requirements under the Accessible Canada Act.

Statement of Commitment

At Transport Gariépy, we are committed to ensuring that our organization and the services we offer are accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. All Canadians have the right to receive our services in a fair manner, and those who work with us have the right to perform their work duties in a barrier-free environment.

We are committed to considering the seven guiding principles when making decisions in accordance with section 6 of the Accessible Canada Act:

Everyone must be treated with dignity, regardless of their disability;
Every person must have the same opportunity to lead life as he or she can and wants to lead, regardless of their disability ;
Anyone must be able to access a participation without hindrance full and equal to society, regardless of one's disability;
Everyone must have meaningful options and be free to make her own choices, with support if she wishes, whatever his disability;
Legislation, policies, programs, services and structures must take Into account the disabilities of the people, the different ways in which people interact with their environment and multiple and intersecting forms of marginalization and discrimination that people face;
Every person with a disability must be involved in the development and development of the design of laws, policies, programs, services and structures;
The development and revision of accessibility standards, and the establishment of regulations must have as their objective achieve the highest level of accessibility for people with disabilities.

The first opportunities, in summary

To improve the attraction of people with disabilities to jobs in our company and in the trucking industry.
Expand the scope and options of accommodations, especially for drivers.
Be better prepared to provide information in accessible formats when requested.
Enhance the knowledge of our IT team and leverage accessibility features for current and future IT equipment, programs and systems.
Initiate processes in which there is a more comprehensive review and an "through accessibility glasses" approach when evaluating facilities, procurement procedures, company programs, new initiatives and services rendered.

Your opinions and feedback

Transport Gariépy appreciates feedback on our accessibility plan from the public, employees and our partners. This feedback is valuable to us because it helps us break down barriers to accessibility and build on our commitment to accessibility and inclusion. If you have any questions or feedback, please use one of the contact methods below. We will respond to any feedback in a diligent manner. If you need support in providing feedback, let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you.

Véronique Moulin
11525 Armand-Chaput Montreal Qc H1C 1S8
[email protected]
514-494-3400 ext. 223
https://transportgariepy.com

Report on our plan

As required by the Accessible Canada Act, we will publish an annual status report that measures our progress on our commitments. We will also review and update our accessibility plan every three years. Progress reports and updates to our accessibility plan will be guided by consultations with people with disabilities.

Employment

Transport Gariépy recognizes that applicants and employees with disabilities and individuals face barriers throughout their employment cycle. For this reason, accessibility must be ensured at every stage of the employment development within the company. We are committed to all persons in the designated underrepresented groups to apply for our various positions. We recognize that we need to survey and/or identify active employees who are living with a disability. Second, we need to improve our recruitment practices to make it easier to hire people with disabilities.

Obstacle #1

Our company competes for employees and at this time we are not attracting enough candidates from underrepresented groups such as people with disabilities.

Actions

Enhance the Careers section of our website to increase the visibility of the various types of jobs available to people with disabilities in the trucking industry, highlighting our commitment to including them on our team.
Educate hiring managers on accessibility and how they can ensure they conduct a barrier-free hiring, selection and accommodation process.
Reviews the requirements of the role to ensure that all physical, cognitive and sensory elements are identified and, where accommodations are evident, clearly describe and communicate them to candidates.
Make changes to job postings and the career section of our website to encourage candidates from designated groups to apply when the job requirements allow.
Compare current recruitment, selection and onboarding practices with accessibility best practices within other trucking companies and other industries.
Review language used in job postings and application processes to verify level of understanding and jargon, and ensure that people with disabilities are represented in job postings.
Review current practices in the planning of interviews. Include in job postings a statement indicating the company's willingness to make accommodations.

Obstacle #2

We need to better understand the breadth and variety of accommodation options available to people with disabilities interested in becoming truck drivers.

Actions

Develop a framework that will help managers understand their responsibilities in the accommodation process and guide them in supporting their employees and making appropriate adjustments to the workplace.
Establish a task force composed of managers, drivers, persons with disabilities and a consultant in accommodation for persons with disabilities to identify and evaluate options to expand the variety of potential accommodations.
Management and finance will determine and implement an accommodation budget to allow for the acquisition of assistive equipment such as lifting systems, running boards, enhanced audio, improved lighting, etc.

Built environment

We have a main establishment in Quebec. We maintain and repair our facilities as needed, and all construction and renovation work on our new terminals is in compliance with the Building Code. Accessibility is ensured, but improvements are also possible.

Obstacle #3

Some spaces in offices and in the truck yard may limit the mobility of employees and visitors with disabilities.

Actions

Anticipate changes to the design of the built environment.
Implement dedicated parking spaces for people with disabilities that do not currently meet all accessibility standards for parking.
Provide signage, adherent flooring or other adjustments to allow for larger, barrier-free spaces, including washrooms and breakfast rooms.
Review the current workplace layout by type of location and assess where physical tools, aids and resources are needed to meet the needs of people with disabilities.

Obstacle #4

Safety signage in our building and in the truck yard is not accessible to people with low vision.

Actions

Install tactile signage and Braille text at key locations in our buildings and in truck yards. This includes tactile indicators on walking surfaces that warn of hazards, including the top of stairs.
Improve the illumination of safety signs and direction indicators in the truck yard.

Obstacle #5

The current IT team is not very knowledgeable about accessibility technologies and does not know how to assist people with disabilities in the workplace. The communications priority area recognizes that each person gives, receives, and understands information in different ways. Organizations are expected to take these differences into account and deliver their communications in a variety of accessible formats to those who need them.
Examples of communications products include hiring documents, compliance documents, and our corporate policies. We recognize that our current communication processes do not take differences into account.

Actions

Train IT employees to increase their knowledge of accessibility and learn how to adapt services and improve their interactions with people with disabilities.
Provide training and promote the use of accessibility features of all available software.
Develop and promote support and training materials for people with disabilities (e.g., make items appear larger on the screen, enable the reading function in MS Word, enable captions in MS Teams, etc.).
Develop checklists and support documents for employees building or procuring information technology.

Obstacle #6

Many of the tools and software used in the company have accessibility capabilities that are not used in an accessible way.

Actions

Conduct an inventory of the IT systems used by the company to measure their accessibility capabilities.
Gradually introduce new accessibility features into IT systems.

Obstacle #7

The inaccessibility of technologies commonly used in meeting spaces can limit the ability of facilitators and attendees to participate meaningfully.

Actions

Review the technology used in conference, learning and meeting spaces to ensure that it has a high level of accessibility and complies with all legal and policy requirements.

Non-ICT communications

This area requires the organization to provide barrier-free access to the public, customers and employees to all communications that the company produces for these audiences. The communications priority area recognizes that each person gives, receives, and understands information in different ways. Organizations are expected to take these differences into account and deliver their communications in a variety of accessible formats to those who need them. Examples of communication products include hiring documents, compliance documents, and our corporate policies

Obstacle #8

The Company does not have a consistent procedure to ensure that alternative formats of the communications it disseminates to employees and other stakeholders are available and provided in a timely manner.

Actions

Assess how we can make important documents more accessible to all groups.
Equip the HR team to promote internal and external communication in plain language.
When requested, we commit to providing these alternative formats as soon as possible and within the timeframes set out in the Accessible Canada Regulations:
Procurement of goods, services and facilities

Obstacle #9

The domain "acquisition (purchase) of goods, services and facilities" aims to ensure that accessibility is considered from the beginning of the procurement process.
Transport Gariépy's procurement procedures and practices do not take into account accessibility requirements.

Actions

Update procurement procedures to include accessibility checks when procuring goods and services.
Include accessibility considerations in procurement document templates (e.g. solicitations) to inform external suppliers and confirm that the products and services provided will comply with the Accessible Canada Act.

Program and service design and delivery

When designing and delivering the company's internal and external programs and services, accessibility considerations must be part of the process from the very beginning.

Obstacle #10

There is currently no standardized approach to ensuring that all programs, processes and services are accessibility-sensitive.

Actions

Ensure that accessibility is considered in the creation of programs and services.
Commit to developing an internal accessibility policy to demonstrate Transport Gariépy’s commitment.

Transport

This portion of the Accessible Canada Act affects the transportation of people and goods. Federally regulated organizations must consider barriers to the operation of their vehicles and provide accommodations to employees who use them, if necessary.

Obstacle #11

Transport Gariépy is currently limited in the options it can provide to employees who have difficulties and concerns about driving at dawn, dusk or at night.

Actions

Identify and implement "winter schedules" that modify or shorten driving hours to align with the dawn and dusk hours.
For long-haul trucking, set up teams of two drivers so that one can focus on night driving.

Obstacle #12

Boarding a commercial truck or warehouse vehicle often poses a challenge for drivers over time, due to repetitive movements and the height of the steps. For people with motor disabilities, asking them to get into the cab can prevent them from doing their job.

Actions

Allocate a budget for extended tractor steps and/or folding stepladders that can reduce the height to climb to access truck and warehouse vehicle cabs. Keep a small number in stock.
When possible, install a swivel seat to improve access to truck or warehouse vehicle cabs.

Consultations

In order to fulfill Transport Gariépy's commitment to making our work environment accessible to all, we have developed our accessibility plan in consultation with our employees, including those with disabilities. We gathered feedback and advice from our team members and external organizations in a variety of ways:

Face-to-face discussions with employees with disabilities so that they can share feedback and ideas
Engaged with external organizations that provide support to people with disabilities to better understand and obtain recommendations on how to improve the accessibility of the building, truck yards, and company programs and services.

We will continue to maintain this communication network with our employees and with any working groups that have been created as part of this accessibility plan, to measure our progress and ensure that we are making the changes we have committed to make.

Definitions

Accessibility: Refers to the need for persons with disabilities to be considered intentionally and thoughtfully when goods, services and facilities are designed or modified so that they can be used and enjoyed by persons of all abilities.
Barrier: The Accessible Canada Act defines a barrier as "any element — including anything that is physical, architectural, informational, communications, attitudinal or technological in nature, or that is the result of a policy or practice — that adversely affects the full and equal participation in society of persons with disabilities, including physical, intellectual, cognitive, mental, sensory, learning, communication or functional limitations. »

Disability: The Accessible Canada Act defines disability as "an impairment that includes physical, intellectual, cognitive, sensory, learning, communication or other impairments, or functional limitations, permanent, temporary or episodic in nature, whether overt or not, and the interaction with a barrier interferes with a person's full and equal participation in society. »

Ressources

For more information and tips on the Accessible Canada Act and creating an accessibility plan:

Emploi et Développement social Canada : Résumé du Règlement canadien sur l’accessibilité https://www.canada.ca/fr/emploi-developpement-social/programmes/canada-accessible/sommaire-reglements-loi.html

Emploi et Développement social Canada : Exemple d’un modèle de plan d’accessibilité https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/esdedsc/documents/programs/accessiblecanada/accessible-canada-regulations-guidance/DirectivesSurRCA-Modele_FR.pdf

Emploi et Développement social Canada : Directives associées aux plans sur l’accessibilité https://www.canada.ca/fr/emploi-developpement-social/programmes/directives-reglementscanadien-accessibilite/plans-accessibilite.html LA LOI CANADIENNE SUR L’ACCESSIBILITÉ – Exemple de plan d’accessibilité