Accessibility Plan
Last update: June 20, 2024
- Overview
Accessibility has been one of the core principles on which Radio Markham York Inc. was founded. From providing local news and information in nine languages to building studios with extra wide doors and on the first floor only, to purchasing a portal ramp for access to our lobby, establishing protocols on website design to accommodate screen readers and early adoption of AI to generate transcripts, our expansion of services has always included consideration for the differentially abled with a goal of inclusion. Our efforts in ensuring accessibility have been summarized in this report and are filed with the CRTC in response to the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) and the Accessible Canada Regulations that require federally regulated entities, which includes broadcasting outlets, prepare and publish Accessibility Plans. - Inviting comment
We invite listeners/readers to provide feedback to us through our website at 1059theregion.com or to email Debra McLaughlin at Debra@1059theregion.com. They might also choose to contact her by phone at 416-292-2367 ext. 112 or by post at 129 Rowntree Dairy Road, Unit 3, Vaughan, Ontario L4L 6C9. We commit to responding within 5 business days. The accessibility tab is on our home page. - Our commitment
Radio Markham York Inc. is committed to making all of its services and facilities accessible to employees and clients. This includes ensuring that persons with disabilities are not limited in terms of access to Radio Markham York Inc. offices, studios, broadcasts, digital products or employment opportunities. - About Radio Markham York Inc.
This is a single station enterprise operating in York Region and serving Markham, Richmond Hill and Vaughan at 105.9 frequency. - Development of this plan
Since before the station launched in 2014, we have worked closely with local charities and particularly those organizations who provide support to people who are covered under the Disabilities Act. In inviting feedback from these organizations on our processes and plans and seeking regular input on our use of adaptive technologies to better serve this population, we have greatly benefited from their deep understanding of the many needs and challenges their community faces. These organizations have been instrumental in making our facilities, programming and published material more accessible. We have informally worked with them to develop awareness of the needs and formally, we have participated in education sessions, attended conferences and training sessions they host. Our goal is to invite the full participation of the communities we serve through accessible content and facilities that are designed to accommodate differing needs. - Consultative Process
Our staff is all customer facing including our IT and accounting departments. Therefore, our first consultation was with staff about informal feedback they have received and any issues they might have personally encountered and witnessed arising with clients. We then went outside the organization. We have working relationships with several groups who serve the differentially abled communities. We work with the CNIB, Canadian Association for the Deaf, Participation House, My MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Family, AIM (Autism in Motion), CHATS (Community Home Assisted to Seniors) and Spinal Cord Injury Canada. In the initial stages of developing our plan we asked each of these organizations to provide insights into the challenges faced by their clients and make recommendations as to what they would require to feel included.
As we incorporated these insights, we returned to the originator of the suggestion to test if what we had done met their standards. We asked to have their clients review the changes and every organization provided a reaction to the changes made. Among our staff we do have those who have family members that are differentially enabled, and they were part of our consultation process and continue to provide ongoing feedback. - Where we are today and 2025 Goals
A. Our facilities
With only a singular building to manage, we have ensured that our first-floor entry way is accessible through the use of a portable ramp. We worked closely with the landlord to get designated parking near to our door but with a sidewalk that accesses many offices our only option was to have designed a removable ramp to ensure that people can access all businesses. Our studios, washrooms, meeting rooms and kitchen facilities are all located on the first floor with extra wide doors to accommodate wheelchairs and guests using other mobility-assist devices.Two of our studios are specifically designed to facilitate people in wheelchairs with adjustable desks to permit differing heights of most wheelchairs and our mic stands are completely adjustable in terms of height, angle and direction. This means there are no physical barriers for either potential employees or guests within the broadcasting portion of our studio. All areas of the first floor are able to host guests with mobility issues and allow them to independently access our facilities.
For those who have greater mobility challenges, we are able to record them via our virtual studio meaning that to have their voice heard on this station they do not have to be physically present.
2025 Goals
To continue to make any changes to physical layout in consideration of the needs of those who are differentially abled. At this time no changes to the office or studios are anticipated.B. WebsiteOur design team follows best practices for visitors to our website who require the use of a screen reader. We direct content providers (internal and external) on the use of proper HTML semantic structure with elements marked up appropriately. This includes but is not limited to:
1. Ensuring language is tagged so the screen reader can enact correct pronunciations. This includes using the universal language tags.2. Making sure that content is linearized meaning that content is presented in an order that when read makes sense. Unlike content designed for sighted people, where a scan of the page can impart a great deal of the content, screen readers rely on transferring what is on the page in the order it is placed making the need to order as if read and not viewed a major advantage for those dependent on screen readers.3. We employ the use of concise and clear headlines to allow a screen reader to give a user an accessible summary of the content of any given page and we make sure we use formatted paragraphs to facilitate a similar content search.4. We have trained our principle contributors on how to make content accessible.We do provide transcripts for live shows within 30 days of airing. Unfortunately, storage issues do not allow us to keep them for longer but using AI we are able to generate within 5 business days an edited transcript for live programming. For all podcasts from May 2024 onwards, unedited transcripts are available.
2025 Goals
To expand training to all staff and all contributors to reduce challenges to access online.
To expand the availability of transcripts on past podcasts.
To continue to review adaptive technologies to ensure that the most popular site readers and AI for transcription are being used to ensure the broadest possible access.
To conduct an external accessibility audit of new design elements and content expected to be launched in early 2025.C, Employment
We have a full-time staff of 10 people, 5 part-time staff and 5 regular volunteers. Within this group, we have two people who are covered by the ACA. We advertise positions online and with the assistance of employment firms, message employment opportunities through the broadest distribution. Our hiring practice is that a group of senior managers (3 in total) score resumes submitted using standardized scoring. This helps to remove any unconscious bias that appearance or physical challenges might otherwise tap into. These “skill” scores are tabulated and shared amongst the team. They are used to determine who is invited for an interview.Interviews are conducted via Zoom or Teams or by phone, making access to interview times possible for the vast majority of applicants. Annually, we review with managers the policies on discrimination, our commitment inclusive hiring and invite a corporate coach, HR expert or other skilled sensitivity professional to speak.
Any behaviour that demonstrates or approaches discrimination based on differential abilities is not tolerated and once reported, is dealt with promptly.
2025 Goals
To post a copy of our hiring policy online and make it available if requested in alternate formats including Braille, Audio and Simple Text formats.
To conduct a management training session on sensitivity training which would include a section on recruiting, hiring and working with differentially abled employees.D. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
In addition to our website, we do rely on social media and because we have many people posting, including clients when they do a social media take over, we know that accessibility rules are not consistently provided.2025 Goals
To develop best practices around accessibility in social media by the end of 2024.
To host a training session to share these best practices within the first 30 days of 2025.E. Feedback processes
At the direction of the CRTC we have changed the contact for Feedback from generic to a specific address. In addition to having one person (instead of the management team as had planned) in charge, we have designed a means by which all feedback is catalogued and stored for future reference. We will review these annually with staff to ensure a broader understanding of not only the challenges some of our clients and listeners face but also our role and opportunities in managing some of these.2025 Goals
To have catalogue established and summarized for training purposes.
To conduct an external audit on the feedback mechanism to ensure it is working as we planned across different adaptive technologies.CONCLUSION
Radio Markham York Inc. is committed to improving accessibility by implementing and updating this Accessibility Plan on a regular basis. Core to improving service is listening to feedback from the community, our clients and staff which our goals demonstrate is part of our ongoing strategy. We are committed to making sure that we are accessible to everyone. We will continue examining our practices and operations to address barriers when they are brought to our attention.