General Cartage & Express Co. Ltd.
Accessibility Standard for Customer Service Policy
The goal of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 is to create a more accessible Ontario, by identifying, and to the extent possible, preventing, and eliminating barriers experienced by persons with a disability.
The Accessibility Standards for Customer Service has been established under the Act to ensure goods and services are, where at all possible, equally accessible to every member of the public.
General Cartage & Express Co. Ltd. (“General Cartage”) strives to make our goods and services accessible to people with various kinds of disabilities and respect the principles of independence, dignity, integration and equal opportunity. The objective of this policy is to ensure we meet the requirements of the Standard.
Definition
“Disability” means:
- any degree of physical disability, infirmity, malformation or disfigurement that is caused by bodily injury, birth defect or illness and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, a brain injury, any degree of paralysis, amputation, lack of physical co-ordination, blindness or visual impediment, deafness or hearing impediment, muteness or speech impediment, or physical reliance on a guide dog or other animal or on a wheelchair or other remedial appliance or device;
- a condition of mental impairment or a developmental disability;
- a learning disability, or a dysfunction in one or more of the processes involved in understanding or using symbols or spoken language;
- a mental disorder; or
- an injury or disability for which benefits were claimed or received under the insurance plan established under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997.
Practices and Procedures
General Cartage complies with the regulations of the Accessibility Standard for Customer Service by:
- Providing goods and services in a manner that respects the dignity and independence of persons with disabilities;
- Providing goods and services so that persons with disabilities are able to fully benefit from the same services, in the same place, and in the same or similar way as persons without disabilities, unless an alternative measure is necessary to enable a person with a disability to obtain, use, or benefit from General Cartage’s goods and services; and
- Giving people with disabilities the same opportunity equal to that of persons without disabilities to obtain, use, or benefit from General Cartage’s goods and services.
Use of Assistive Devices
General Cartage permits persons with a disability, where possible, to use their own Assistive Device when on our premises for the purposes of obtaining, using or benefiting from our goods and services. If there is a physical, technological or other type of barrier that prevents the use of an Assistive Device on our premises we will endeavour to remove that barrier. If we are not able to remove the barrier we will ask the person how he/she can be accommodated and what alternative methods of service would be more accessible to him/her. We will make best efforts to provide an alternative means of assistance to the person with a disability.
Use of Service Animals and Support Persons
Service Animals
Persons with disabilities who are accompanied by guide dogs or other service animals will be permitted to enter General Cartage’s premises that are open to the public with the animal and will be allowed to keep the animal with them, unless the animal is otherwise excluded by law. If the service animal is excluded by law, General Cartage will use reasonable efforts to ensure that alternate means are available for persons with disabilities to obtain, use or benefit from our goods and services.
If it is not readily apparent that the animal is a service animal, General Cartage may ask the person with a disability for a letter from a physician or nurse confirming that the person requires the animal for reasons relating to his or her disability.
It is the responsibility of the person with a disability to ensure that his or her service animal is kept in control at all times.
Support Persons
Persons with disabilities who are accompanied by a support person will be permitted to enter General Cartage’s premises that are open to the public and will not be prevented from having access to the support person while on the premises.
General Cartage may require a person with a disability to be accompanied by a support person while on our premises in situations where it is deemed necessary to protect the health and safety of the person with a disability and/or others.
Communication
When communicating with a person with a disability, General Cartage will do so in a manner that takes into account the person’s disability.
Notice of Temporary Disruptions
General Cartage will make reasonable efforts to provide notice to persons with disabilities in the event of a planned or unexpected disruption in the facilities or services usually used by people with disabilities. If the disruption is anticipated, General Cartage will provide a reasonable amount of advance notice of the disruption. If the disruption is unexpected, notice will be provided as soon as possible.
The notice will include information about the reason for the disruption, its anticipated duration, and a description of alternative facilities or services, if available.
The notice will be posted on General Cartage’s website, or in a pertinent location on the premises, or another method that is reasonable given the circumstances.
Training for Staff
Training is provided to all employees who deal with the public or other third parties on our behalf.
Training includes the following topics:
- A review and requirements of the Accessibility Standard for Customer Service;
- A review of General Cartage’s Accessibility Standard for Customer Service Policy;
- The training tips for employees documents available through Access ON will be used to provide training on the following:
- Instructions on how to interact and communicate with people with various types of disabilities;
- Instructions on how to interact with people 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 disability is having difficulty in accessing General Cartage’s goods and services.
New staff and current staff who commence new duties will be trained as soon as it is reasonable after starting the job. Also, all applicable staff will receive training when there are any changes to the policies, practices or procedures that relate to the provision of goods or services for people with disabilities.
General Cartage will keep records of the training, including the dates on which training is provided and the names and number of individuals to whom it was provided.
Feedback Process
General Cartage is committed to providing high quality goods and services to all members of the public that it serves, including customers with disabilities. Comments on how well General Cartage achieves this goal are welcomed and appreciated.
Feedback from members of the public regarding the way General Cartage provides goods and services to people with disabilities can be made by telephone, in person, in writing, in electronic format (e.g. e-mail) or through other relevant methods.
All feedback received will be directed to Paolo Santoriello, Assistant General Manager, who can be reached at:
48 North Queen Street
Etobicoke, Ontario, M8Z 2C4
Telephone: 416-236-2460 ext. 243
Fax: 416-236-3554
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Privacy will be respected and all feedback will be reviewed for possible action that can be taken to improve General Cartage services. In most cases, a response to the feedback will be provided within 30 working days. Feedback and/or responses will be delivered in a format that is accessible to the complainant.
Notice of Availability of Documents
All documents required by the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service, including General Cartage’s policies, practices and procedures governing accessible customer service; documents on the use of service animals and support persons; notices of temporary disruptions; and documents regarding General Cartage’s feedback process, are available upon request. General Cartage’s policy governing the provision goods and services for people with disabilities is posted on our website.
Format of Documents
If General Cartage is required to give a copy of any document available under the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service to a person with a disability, General Cartage will provide the document, or the information contained within the document, in a format that takes into account the person’s disability. Alternatively, General Cartage and the person with a disability may agree on an alternate format for the document or information.
If an alternative format is required, please contact Paolo Santoriello, Assistant General Manager.