Town of Milton celebrates National Access Awareness Week

The Town of Milton is recognizing May 28 to June 4, 2016 as National Access Awareness Week to raise awareness of the achievements made by and for persons with disabilities in our community.

In honour of the week-long celebration, the Milton Accessibility Advisory Committee is hosting a free evening for employers, which focuses on persons with disabilities in the workplace. The session takes place on Tuesday, May 31, from 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. at the Milton Centre for the Arts in MinMaxx Hall. The evening will highlight the benefits of hiring persons with disabilities and how steady employment can enrich the lives of those who are hired as well as the businesses who hire them.

Guest speakers will include Louie DiPalma, Director, SME Programs & Global Growth Fund Contact, from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, along with Sarah White, Director of Accessibility Education and Consulting, People Access. Light refreshments will be served and a cash bar will be available. Attendees are asked to register in advance for the event or request an ASL interpreter by contacting us.

“As we move closer to a barrier-free community, it is important to celebrate the strides that have been made in the past few years as well as acknowledge the areas where we can improve our accessibility and services,” said Milton Mayor Gord Krantz. “The Town of Milton is committed to ensuring all people, regardless of ability, are able to enjoy and contribute to our community.”

National Access Awareness Week was first established in 1988 in response to the request to promote better community access for people with disabilities made by Rick Hansen following his Man in Motion world tour.  Currently, one in seven Ontarians has a disability, and the number is expected to increase to one in five by 2025.

Under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA), the Ontario government must develop and enact provincial accessibility standards covering customer service, transportation, information and communication, employment and the built environment. The Town of Milton achieved complete compliance with the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service (Regulation 429/07 of the AODA) by January 2010, and is on target to meet the provincial government’s goal of universal accessibility by 2025. The Milton Accessibility Advisory Committee plays an important role in the preparation, implementation and evaluation of the Town’s annual Accessibility Plan.

For more details about National Access Awareness Week events in Milton or for information on the Town’s accessibility services, visit our Accessible Milton web page.