Accessibility (Multi-Year Accessibility Plan)

Philosophy: Newcom is committed to serving all employees, customers and suppliers, including people with disabilities. We will do our best to communicate and interact in ways that respectfully consider their disability. Newcom reviews these and other policies on a regular basis.

Service animals and support persons

  • We welcome people with disabilities who are accompanied by a service animal on the parts of our premises that are open to the public and other third parties.
  • A person with a disability who is accompanied by a support person will be allowed to have that person accompany them on our premises.

Training

Applicable staff will be trained on policies, practices and procedures that affect the way goods and services are provided to people with disabilities. Staff will also be trained on an ongoing basis when changes are made to these policies, practices, and procedures. This training includes:

  • The purposes of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (or any other applicable law on the subject) and customer service standard requirements
  • How to interact and communicate with people who have various types of disabilities
  • How to interact with people with disabilities who use an assistive device or require the assistance of a service animal or support person
  • How to use available equipment or devices — such as TTY (teletypewriters) and wheelchair lifts — that may help provide goods or services to people with disabilities.
  • What to do if a person with a disability is having difficulty in accessing Newcom’s goods and services
  • Training will utilize the Ontario government training available at www.ohrc.on.ca/en/learning/working-together-code-and-aoda.

Employee health and safety

Philosophy: We consider the health and safety of each employee to be of primary importance. Our objective is to conduct business in the safest possible manner, consistent with legislative requirements and practices.

Newcom recognizes that workers have a right to a safe and healthy work environment. All subcontractors, supervisors, employees, and visitors will be held accountable for their health and safety performance at our place of business, both on and off site.

  • Use your knowledge, training, and experience to assess all situations. Never take any chances with your safety. If you see an unsafe situation, report it to your supervisor immediately. You have the right to refuse unsafe work.
  • Managers and supervisors are committed to making our workplaces safe for everyone. Your attitude as a worker and cooperation in promoting accident prevention will help achieve our goal to make our workplace a better place to work. Newcom has a Joint Health & Safety Committee that includes employee representation.

All facets of the employment policy have been implemented:

  • Recruitment, assessment or selection process
  • Notice to successful applicants
  • Informing employees of supports as required
  • Accessible formats and communication support for employees
  • Documented individual accommodation plans as required
  • Return to work process as required

Employees are encouraged to give feedback or concerns to the Payroll Administrator, CFO or the President.

Respect in the workplace

Philosophy: Newcom recognizes the wellness of every employee and believes in providing and maintaining a work environment in which all employees are free from workplace violence, harassment, and discrimination.

All employees in the workplace have a right to and maintain a safe work environment, whenever possible. (See Harassment Prevention Policy.)

  • Do not engage in or ignore violent, threatening, intimidating or other disruptive behaviors.
  • Report such behaviors in writing, informing your supervisor about any incident in which an employee is subjected to, witnesses, or knows about workplace violence, harassment and/or discrimination.

Newcom prohibits reprisals – any act of direct or indirect retaliation — against individuals, acting in good faith, who report incidents of workplace violence, harassment, and discrimination, or act as witnesses.

Accessible Formats and Communication Support for Employees and Customers

On request, Newcom will consult with an employee or customer with a disability to provide or arrange for the provision of suitable accessible formats and communication support.

Notice of Temporary Disruptions

In the event of any planned or unexpected disruption of services or facilities used by individuals with a disability, Newcom will do its best to clearly communicate the reason for disruption and the date by which it will be rectified.

Employment

Newcom Media welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

Accessible Websites and Web Content

We strive to ensure that all new public websites, or those undergoing a significant refresh, conform to the World Wide Web Consortium Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Level A, to the best of our abilities. Newcom is continuously working towards improvements on preexisting website upgrades to improve accessibility standards.

Resources

There are many tools available to enhance your online experience. These tools can increase text size on screen, magnify content on the screen, enable high-contrast text, read the content out loud to you, and more. Computer operating system and browser accessibility resources below:

Operating systems

To modify system colours, text size and mouse pointers, or enable text-to-speech, choose the appropriate link for your operating system:

Browsers

To learn how to use zoom magnification features or enable high-contrast text, choose the link for your browser:

Contact and Feedback

Please contact us at accessibility@newcom.ca if you:

  • Want to receive content from our websites or newsletters in an accessible or alternate format
  • Have any comments, feedback or questions regarding accessibility of our website or newsletters or any digital product
  • Would like feedback regarding the way Newcom provides goods and services to people with disabilities

Updated: August 2024