Purpose
In accordance with our organizational obligations under the Accessible Canada Act (“ACA”) and the Accessible Canada Regulations (S.C. 2019, c. 10), the purpose of this Accessibility Plan (the “Plan”) is to outline the policies and actions that Bruce Power has in place to provide accessibility within our organization for people with disabilities.
Application and Scope
- This Plan applies to all Bruce Power employees, students, and contractors.
General
Feedback process
To receive more information on this Plan, request an alternate accessible format of this Plan or provide feedback on barriers, this Plan and/or Bruce Power’s approach to accessibility:
- Phone: 519-361-2673 x 17188
- Email: BNPDDiversityEquityandInclusion@brucepower.com
- Mail:
Bruce Power
PO Box 1540
c/o B10 Human Resources – Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
177 Tie Rd.
Tiverton, ON
N0G 2T0
Our commitment
Bruce Power is committed to maintaining an accessible environment for persons with disabilities. We are committed to meeting the needs of people with disabilities in a timely manner and will do so by preventing and removing barriers to accessibility and meeting accessibility requirements under the ACA. Where it is not possible to remove barriers, Bruce Power will make efforts to accommodate persons with disabilities in a timely, effective, and suitable manner.
As an organization, we live each day by a strong and clear set of values that embrace safety, our community, integrity, and diversity. We aim for inclusiveness, dignity, and accessibility while honouring the knowledge, experience, wisdom, and traditions of our people. We continue to develop and evolve our diversity and inclusion program with the objective to take it to the next level and give it a more focused approach throughout the organization. We continue to work towards removing barriers, while focusing our diversity efforts on recruitment, training, communications, and accessibility.
Consultations
Following the principle of Nothing Without Us, we developed this Plan in consultation with our workforce. We issued a confidential and anonymous survey where individuals could provide feedback on our accessibility as an employer. Our focus is on eliminating and preventing barriers in each of the priority areas set out in the ACA. On top of engaging our workforce to build this Plan, we have also launched an employee resource group, yet to be named, focused on supporting those with disabilities in our business along with their allies. We will continue to engage with this group and other stakeholders as we implement this Plan and prepare our progress reports.
Our tri-partite Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee also has the opportunity to review and provide input to this Plan and our approach to accessibility. The Committee meets on a regular basis to provide feedback regarding concerns related to diversity, equity and inclusion on behalf of their union members.
In an effort to strive for excellence, Bruce Power has consulted various organizations’ public policies and plans on accessibility for benchmarking. The Diversity, Equity & Inclusion team members regularly participate in online forums, such as webinars and roundtables with experts, to learn about opportunities to enhance the workplace for those with disabilities.
Information and Communication Technologies (“ICTs”)
Bruce Power is committed to ensuring all publicly available information is made accessible upon request and that all existing websites and content conform with WCAG 2.0, Level AA.
Bruce Power utilizes the Microsoft suite of tools such as, but not limited to, Microsoft 365, Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams and OneNote. Employees can be directed to Microsoft Accessibility Help to enhance their user experience. Information on these resources is also available on our intranet for individuals to access. Support exists for vision, hearing, neurodiversity, learning, mobility and mental health disabilities.
Identified opportunities to improve in this area include:
- Provide screen-reading software, closed captioning, voice recognition, screen enlargement applications, and enlarged keyboards more easily for employees;
- Install additional audio-visual equipment to support hearing-impaired individuals;
- Continue to upgrade our Microsoft Office offerings and implement other software improvements that can improve accessibility; and
- Update our external and internal internet websites to ensure they function with assistive technology.
Communication, other than ICT
Bruce Power is committed to meeting the needs of people with disabilities and we communicate in ways that take into account their disability. Bruce Power has ensured that existing processes for receiving and responding to feedback are accessible to people with disabilities upon request.
Accessible Emergency Information
Bruce Power provides its visitors, employees, and contractors with publicly available emergency information in an accessible way upon request. All visitors to our site have a sponsor who is responsible for their safety. We also provide employees with disabilities with individualized emergency response information when necessary.
Accessibility processes during an emergency event on site include:
- Audio alarms for building evacuations with lights on some of the building fire alarms. In the stations, there is a visual alarm on the main elevators which is activated during an Emergency Response Tone or Station Emergency tone out.
- As per BP-PROC-00405, Bruce Site Assembly, Accounting, and Evacuation, assistance is provided to those who have disability-related restrictions that interferes with their ability to assemble or account during an event.
- Chair lift in corporate support services building (B10) to assist with people getting down the stairs if they require it.
Identified opportunity to improve in this area include:
- On-screen notifications for emergency alerts.
Employment
Talent Acquisition
Bruce Power is committed to fair and accessible employment practices. We take the following steps to notify the public and staff that, when requested, Bruce Power will accommodate people with disabilities during the recruitment and assessment processes and when people are hired:
- Bruce Power notifies its employees about the availability of accommodation for applicants with disabilities in its recruitment processes.
- During a recruitment process, Bruce Power notifies job applicants, when they are individually selected to participate in an assessment or selection process that accommodations are available upon request in relation to the materials or processes to be used.
- If a selected applicant requests an accommodation, Bruce Power consults with the applicant and provides or arranges for the provision of a suitable accommodation in a manner that considers the applicant’s accessibility needs.We take the following steps to ensure that our employment practices comply with the ACA:
We take the following steps to ensure that our employment practices comply with the ACA:
- Proactively review the Bruce Power external careers website and internal recruitment procedures to ensure all legal requirements for accessibility are met at least annually.
- Notify employees and the public about the availability of accommodation for applicants with disabilities in our recruitment processes via our Frequently Asked Questions portion of our Careers page.
- When making offers of employment, we notify the successful applicant of our policies for accommodating employees with disabilities.
Accommodation
Bruce Power has a comprehensive policy for developing individual accommodation plans and return-to-work plans for employees that have been absent due to a disability.
Among other things, Bruce Power ensures that each person with a disability is considered individually, on a case-by-case basis, to determine their accommodation needs, if any. We involve the employee requiring the accommodation as well as any applicable union representative, in the accommodation process.
For detailed information on the Accommodation Policy, please refer to the Company’s intranet.
Talent Management
Our people are our greatest resource. Bruce Power recognizes that having a diverse and talented workforce will allow us to power the future. We are committed to leveraging the power of diversity, equitable practices and focus our efforts for inclusion within recruitment, performance management, career development and action feedback from our employees through our employee engagement surveys and employee resource groups.
Bruce Power takes steps to identify, prevent and remove other accessibility barriers. Our Company is dedicated to prioritizing equitable access to development opportunities, utilizing an objective and inclusive approach to assessing the performance of all our employees, including those with disabilities such as through our Talent Management Review and Leadership Needs Analysis processes. Additionally, we take conscious steps to incorporate and tailor to a variety of learning styles to include visual, oral, reading, writing, and kinesthetics within our training and education environments utilizing delivery methods such as in-person, virtual, computer-based training and hybrid options.
Bruce Power has introduced training for managers focused specifically on diversity and inclusion. In addition, we have secured coaches who specialize in neurodiversity to support individuals that have come forward for their development.
Identified opportunities to improve in this area include:
- Review our external careers website and application process to ensure the functionality works with assistive technologies; and
- Continue educating our employees and leaders regarding inclusive and accessible cultures.
The Built Environment
Bruce Power considers accessibility needs when building or making major modifications to public spaces. Public spaces at Bruce Power include the Bruce Power Visitors’ Centre.
On our private site and in our other private buildings Bruce Power strives to always address accessibility needs in the design of our office buildings during major renovations and re-design when recommended by Building Codes and standards. This includes, for example, accessible walkways, doors, parking, washrooms, building access and elevator availability.
Bruce Power has procedures in place to prevent service disruptions to its accessible parts of its public spaces. In the event of a service disruption, we notify the public of the service disruption and alternatives available.
In the event an accessibility option is temporarily unavailable (i.e., for repair), direction is provided to individuals regarding the next closest available accessible option.
Identified opportunities to improve in this area include:
- Improve repair times for accessible options such as accessible doors;
- Improve and/or implement accessible quiet spaces/rooms for sensory sensitivities and neurodivergence;
- Ensure that all barrier-free parking is in convenient locations; and
- Ensure adequate ramp access to all facilities.
Procurement of Goods, Services and Facilities
When procuring new/leased facilities Bruce Power will review each space or design in accordance with the ACA. Bruce Power looks to ensure new/leased facilities are designed with accessibility in mind, such as ensuring barrier free: parking, pathways, entrances/doorways, seating, washrooms and emergency routes.
There was no specific feedback to address in this area. We will continue to monitor and seek feedback for improvement.
The Design and Delivery of Programs and Services
Bruce Power is committed to educating our staff at our public facilities to recognize and support the following:
Assistive devices
We will ensure that our staff are trained and familiar with the assistive devices we have that may be used by customers and clients with disabilities while accessing our goods and services.
Service Animals
Bruce Power welcomes people with disabilities and their service animals. Service animals are allowed on the parts of our premises that are open to the public.
Support Persons
A person with a disability who is accompanied by a support person will be allowed to have that person accompany them on our premises.
Transportation
Bruce Power has accessible parking available at each of our occupied facilities. Bruce Power considers alternative transportation in the event it is required.
Identified opportunities to improve in this area include:
- Consider accessible transportation services to/from the work location as well as between site buildings.
Bruce Power’s Ongoing Plans for Accessibility
Through the consultation process, several areas were identified as possible opportunities to improve. At Bruce Power we value and are committed to continuous improvement and the pursuit of excellence in all that we do. Bruce Power will continue to consult with our various committees and employee resource groups which represent our workforce, as well as participate in ongoing webinars and learning opportunities to continue our pursuit of excellence in this area.
Bruce Power will also continue to seek feedback from its workforce regarding accessibility and areas for improvement through other feedback mechanisms such as surveys, focus groups and employee concerns
As a next step, the feedback received through the consultation process will be reviewed in further detail by our DEI Steering Committee to determine a detailed action plan, timing and next steps.
