Summary
This is CHIN Radio’s two-year plan to become a more accessible broadcaster and employer for people with disabilities.
We consulted with staff and people with disabilities to identify barriers in our company and to create this plan. The major barriers identified centered around accessibility in our physical spaces, and the need to create awareness and provide training about disability and accessibility.
This plan addresses how we will remove barriers within our control and prevent the creation of new barriers, to make it easier for individuals with disabilities to work with us, use our services, and fully engage with us as a broadcaster.
Over the next two years, CHIN Radio will be continually evaluating this plan and considering the feedback we receive about its implementation, from the public, our clients, and our employees. We will then create and publish a new plan before June 1, 2026.
About Us
CHIN Radio/Tv is an independent radio broadcaster and communications company. We own and operate 4 radio stations in Ontario, with 2 office/studio locations.
Principles of the Accessible Canada Act
CHIN Radio/Tv created this plan to align with section 6 of the Accessible Canada Act:
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All persons must be treated with dignity regardless of their disabilities.
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All persons must have the same opportunity to make for themselves the lives that they are able and wish to have regardless of their disabilities.
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All persons must have barrier-free access to full and equal participation in society, regardless of their disabilities.
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All persons must have meaningful options and be free to make their own choices, with support if they desire, regardless of their disabilities.
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Laws, policies, programs, services and structures must take into account the disabilities of persons, the different ways that persons interact with their environments and the multiple and intersecting forms of marginalization and discrimination faced by persons.
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The development and revision of accessibility standards and the making of regulations must be done with the objective of achieving the highest level of accessibility for persons with disabilities.
Definitions
In this plan, disability, barrier, and accessibility have the following meanings:
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Disability: any impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairment – or a functional limitation – whether permanent, temporary or episodic in nature, or evident or not, that, in interaction with a barrier, hinders a person’s full and equal participation in society.
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Barrier: anything – including anything physical, architectural, technological or attitudinal, anything that is based on information or communications or anything that is the result of a policy or practice – that hinders the full and equal participation in society of persons with an impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairment or a functional limitation.
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Accessibility: The adaptation of physical spaces, technology, products, services, policies, programs, and attitudes to permit all individuals, including those with disabilities, to engage fully with the world around them without limitations.
Feedback
You are welcome to submit feedback on how we are implementing this plan, or the barriers that you encounter in interacting with us, using our services, or working with us.
Feedback can be submitted to CHIN Radio’s Office Manager as follows:
When providing feedback, you can let us know who you are, or you can remain anonymous. If you want to remain anonymous, please do not include any information that might identify you, such as your name or return mailing address. If your email address includes your name or other identifying information, and you want to remain anonymous, you should submit feedback using one of the other methods listed.
You can submit feedback by contacting us through email, at accessibility@chinradio.com
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telephone, at 416-531-9991 and asking to speak with our Office Manager;
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mail, c/o Accessibility-Office Manager, CHIN Radio/Tv, Suite 500, 622 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M6G1B6;
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we also have a Web Accessibility Feedback Form to receive feedback about accessibility on our website: Accessibility@chinradio.com
Section 5 of the Accessible Canada Act
CHIN Radio/Tv is required by law to report publicly on all feedback that we receive, but your identity will be kept confidential unless you expressly permit us to disclose your identity to third parties.
We will acknowledge receipt of all feedback, except for feedback that has been submitted anonymously.
Accessible Format Requests
You can request this plan, or a description of our feedback process, in a more accessible format by:
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emailing us at: accessibility@chinradio.com;
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calling us at: 416-531-9991 ext 2222 and asking to speak with our Office Manager
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by sending a letter to our mailing address c/o Office Manager-Accessibility, CHIN Radio/Tv, Suite 500, 622 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M6G1B6
More accessible formats that CHIN Radio/Tv will provide include: print format; large print format (increased font size); braille; audio format; and an electronic format compatible with adaptive technology. We may also agree to provide you with this plan, or a description of our feedback process, in a format not listed here, upon your request. Braille or audio format will be provided within 45 days, and all other specified formats, within 15 days of the date of your request.
Consultations
In preparing this plan, we posted a notice on our website inviting members of the public to provide feedback on how we could improve the accessibility of our services. This notice has been on our website since June 1, 2023
CHIN Radio/Tv also held a meeting with employees, including employees with disabilities, to discuss barriers and accessibility issues that they have experienced or observed while working with us. We also provided an internal electronic form for employees to submit feedback on barriers and accessibility issues, with an option to self-identify as a person with disabilities. To promote open and free discussion, employees also had the option of submitting the form anonymously.
Employment
CHIN Radio/Tv wants to remove barriers that prevent great people from applying to work with us because they have a disability. We want to remove barriers for current and future employees with disabilities to support their career advancement and self-fulfillment, and because we respect their dignity.
We are an equal opportunities employer and ensure every job advertisement we post includes our Equal Opportunities Employer statement. We offer accommodation to individuals with disabilities during the application, interview, and hiring process.
We have created an internal feedback process where employees can submit anonymous feedback about accessibility and barriers to accessibility that they experience or observe in working with us.
When employees are hired, they can self-identify as an individual with a disability. We continually review the number of employees who identify as individuals living with disability to determine the success of the measures we put in place to increase the representation of people with disabilities amongst our employees. We also continually consider and discuss ways to increase this representation.
We have for many years had a scent-free environment policy and smoking on our properties is prohibited.
Over the next two years, to meet our objectives of removing further barriers within our control in the hiring and retention of our employees, we will:
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immediately, request that all of our health and safety committees assess health and safety through an accessibility lens at each committee meeting, including from an employee perspective;
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by September 1, 2026, incorporate questions on accessibility into our employee exit interview questionnaire;
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by December 1, 2024, evaluate our job posting formats for accessibility;
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by June 1, 2025, provide training to all employees about disabilities and accessibility and create a policy for providing this training during onboarding when we hire new employees;
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by December 1, 2025, evaluate the previous training provided and determine whether any additional training or educational activities should be implemented;
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by December 1, 2025, conduct a survey of employees concerning accessibility and barriers to accessibility to evaluate our previous efforts at removing barriers to determine further steps to be taken; and
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before June 1, 2026, incorporate the results of our employee survey into our next accessibility plan.
Environment
CHIN Radio/Tv wants to remove barriers in our physical spaces for people with disabilities.
We require all of the new spaces we rent, lease, or purchase to be accessible. We also assess every major renovation we complete from an accessibility framework so that any work removes, rather than creates, barriers and make the relevant physical spaces more accessible for people with disabilities where possible.
We have begun an assessment of all our current spaces to identify barriers and improve their accessibility.
To meet our objectives in removing further barriers in our environment, over the next two years we will:
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by June 1, 2024, complete our assessment of the common spaces in each of our existing spaces to identify existing barriers; and
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by September 1, 2024, install scent-neutral deodorizers in all of our bathrooms;
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by December 1, 2024, provide employees with disabilities the opportunity to have their personal physical workspaces assessed to identify and remove barriers within our control;
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by December 1, 2024, initiate steps to remove or remedy barriers identified in our assessment of our existing common spaces that we are in a position to remove or remedy.
Information and Communication Technologies
We use information and communication technologies to create a more accessible workspace and provide more accessible services. We provide operating and document processing software with accessibility features, including voice-to-text capabilities. We provide telephones with hands-free capabilities. We provide larger computer monitors when required. We permit virtual meetings where possible. CHIN wants to remove barriers and prevent the creation of new barriers in the information and communication technologies that we use.
To meet our objectives in removing further barriers in our information and communication technologies, over the next two years we will:
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by June 1, 2024, assess our existing information and communication technologies for accessibility and identify any barriers, or gaps in accessibility as against new developments in information and communication technologies;
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by December 1, 2024, add additional supports in our information and communication technologies to remove the previously identified barriers and accessibility gaps; and
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by June 1, 2025, conduct an employee survey to identify any further barriers or gaps in accessibility in our information and communication technologies.
Procurement of Goods, Services and Facilities
We want to remove barriers and prevent the creation of new barriers in our future procurements of goods, services and facilities.
We will conduct an accessibility assessment on any new facilities we rent, lease or purchase. We require these spaces to be accessible for individuals with disabilities.
To meet our objectives in removing further barriers in our procurement of goods, services and facilities, over the next two years we will create a policy for the assessment of all major procurement of goods, services and facilities through an accessibility lens.
Design and Delivery of Programs and Services
To meet our objectives we will:
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include in all disability and accessibility training for our hiring managers and employees, training and information materials to create awareness about communication barriers, and how to remove those communication barriers, when working with people with disabilities that affect communication;
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by June 1, 2024, review our websites to identify accessibility issues, taking into account any feedback we have received from individuals with disabilities;
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by December 2024, introduce guidelines and provide training materials to employees on how to write all electronic material we post on our websites, social media, and internally, in clear, easy to understand, language;
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by December 2024, provide a link to our feedback form inviting individuals with disabilities to let us know if they experienced any barriers when interacting with our webpages and to provide suggestions on how we can make those webpages more accessible;
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by June 1, 2025, provide training for our on-location promotions staff on disability and accessibility when engaging with the public; and
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by December 1, 2025, develop a digital media accessibility policy which will include provisions on Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2, accessible fonts, and accessible formats.
Section 42(1) of the Accessible Canada Act
As is set out in this plan, CHIN Radio/tv is committed to the removal of barriers within our control and to prevent the creation of new barriers, to make it easier for individuals with disabilities to work with us, use our services, and fully engage with us as a broadcaster. Accessible Canada Act (ACA) defines a barrier as: “...anything physical, architectural, technological or attitudinal, anything that is based on information or communications or anything that is the result of a policy or a practice—that hinders the full and equal participation in society of persons with an impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairment or a functional limitation.” Feedback can be general or specific, but providing more details such as the date, the name of the webpage, application or activity involved, may make it easier for us to understand your concerns.
Our four CHIN radio stations do not have conditions of broadcasting licence related to the identification and removal of access barriers and are not subject to orders or regulations with respect to these matters other than those set out in Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Accessibility Reporting Regulations, SOR/2021-60, 23 June 2021.
CHIN welcomes your feedback on any accessibility barriers that you may have encountered in dealing with CHIN or your feedback on the manner in which CHIN is implementing its Accessibility Plan.
Acknowledgement
CHIN Radio/Tv thanks all individuals who provided their feedback, comments, input and those who shared their personal experiences of disability, for helping us identify existing barriers, for educating us, and for assisting us with the creation of our plan to become a more accessible broadcaster and employer.