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Spotlight on ACCESSibility Micro-Learning Series: Built Environment (INC1-V30)

Description

This video offers advice and examples of how federal workplaces can adhere to accessibility requirements and ensure that future service contracts include high standards for accessibility at work.

Duration: 00:07:01
Published: May 3, 2021
Type: Video


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Spotlight on ACCESSibility Micro-Learning Series: Built Environment

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Transcript

Transcript: Spotlight on ACCESSibility Micro-Learning Series: Built Environment

[Music]

Narrator: Spotlight on ACCESSibility Micro-Learning Series: Built Environment.

Spotlight on ACCESSibility Micro-Learning Series:
Built Environment

[Visual: The title screen fades out, and Christopher Robinson appears.]

Christopher Robinson: The Accessible Canada Act came into effect in June of 2019, and we have the Nothing Without Us Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service of Canada. With that came the establishment of 5 key goals, in order to meet the strategy's vision of creating the most accessible and inclusive public service in the world. 

Christopher Robinson
Office of Accessibility
in the Built Environment at
Public Services and Procurement Canada

[Visual: The image of Christopher Robinson is replaced by a dark purple background, on which a drawing of a white sheet of paper appears in the centre and the title, "Accessible Canada Act" appears at the top of the page.]

Accessible Canada Act

Nothing Without Us

[Visual: The text and background disappears, and a panel of people can be seen sitting in front of a row of flags.]

Christopher Robinson: Under this, the guiding principle is that Nothing Without Us is central to it, and it's central to the initiatives that we're undertaking at PSPC.

[Visual: The shot changes to a shot of Chris Robinson, sitting on the panel.]

Christopher Robinson: Through the strategy, PSPC was identified as the lead for Goal  Number Two, which is enhancing accessibility in the built environment, and with this our focus is really on moving beyond compliance.

Nothing Without Us

Enhancing accessibility in the built environment

[Visual: Shot of Chris Robinson, speaking to panel and audience.]

Christopher Robinson: Meeting and exceeding the new accessibility requirements, but also seeing what we could do to go above and beyond and incorporate user experience in uh, in our planning and establishment of the built environment, and again, that Nothing Without Us is really at the heart of it.

[Visual: The image of Chris Robinson is replaced with a shot of Sandrine Thibault.]

Sandrine Thibault
Science and
Parliamentary Infrastructure Branch at
Public Services and Procurement Canada

Sandrine Thibault: There is a strong mandate both at the department but also at the branch level to really become a model and a leader in universal accessibility, especially for the parliamentary precinct. This is definitely a goal that we are setting for ourselves to be fully inclusive as much as possible to all.

[Visual: Sandrine disappears, and the Parliamentary Precinct appears. The name, "Parliamentary Precinct" appears.]

Parliamentary Precinct

[Visual: The names of the buildings Sandrine mentions appear next to dots on the map marking their locations.]

Senate of Canada
West Block
180 Wellington

Sandrine Thibault: For people familiar with the Parliamentary Precinct, in the last several years there's been renewal of our portfolio, certain buildings, the new Senate of Canada building, West Block, 180 Wellington.

[Visual: The map disappears, and a shot of Sandrine addressing the panel reappears.]

Sandrine Thibault: So while we've made great progress, I think and we've improved accessibility on some of our facilities, there is still quite a bit of work that needs to be done.

[Visual: A shot of Sandrine addressing the panel reappears.]

Sandrine Thibault: So we are developing a universal accessibility review and action plan for the Precinct. And we are also working on what we refer to as "Accessibility Now," which are accessibility projects, improvements on an ongoing basis. 

[Visual: The words "Personal experience" appear, and the words, "with the built environment" appear.]

Personal experience
with the built environment

Narrator: Personal experience with the built environment.

[Visual: The title screen fades out, and a shot of the panel appears. Graham Spero, addresses the group.]

Graham Spero
Persons with Disabilities Network
Public Health Agency of Canada

Graham Spero: I was born missing part of my left hand, so I am a person with a disability myself, and growing up, as you can imagine, I would wonder the types of jobs, the types of activities I would be able to do when I got older.

[Visual: A tree diagram appears. An icon of a person sits at the top, with a line moving down towards a series of icons across the bottom of the screen. The vertical line branches out horizontally, connecting all of the icons to the tree diagram. The icon on the far left is a credit card. To the right of the credit card is an icon of a paintbrush. To the right of the paintbrush, is a coffee cup. To the right of the coffee cup, is a pencil making a wavy line of writing. To the right of the pencil, is a baseball glove.]

[Visual: Above the icons on the tree diagram, but below the icon of the person, the word, "Accommodation" appears.]

Graham Spero: There were certain things I really wanted to be able to do and I knew I'd just have to find a different way of doing it, and with the help of an accommodation.

Accommodation

[Visual: The lines connecting the tree diagram disappear, so that all of the icons float unattached at the bottom. A strike-through line appears across the word "Accommodation." The only line left connects "Accommodation" to the person at the top.]

Accommodation

Graham Spero: If I leave my accommodation at home, as you can imagine if I go elsewhere and try to do that activity, I'm not going to be able to do so to the best of my ability. 

[Visual: The icons shrink down, and move to the bottom of the screen. Above them, another icon of a person, appears. A vertical line moving down from this person attaches in a tree-diagram style to a horizontal line which branches out to connect to each of a series of icons above the first tree diagram. The first icon on the left is a door. To the right of the door, is an icon of a computer mouse. To the right of the computer mouse is an icon of a sheet of paper with lines representing text on it. To the right of the sheet of paper, an icon of a round table surrounded by chairs. To the right of the table and chairs, an icon of a filing cabinet.]

Graham Spero: And it works just the same for someone in the workplace with a workplace accommodation.

[Visual: Above the icons on the second tree diagram, but below the icon of the person at the top, another pink box with the word, "Accommodation" in white appears.]

Accommodation

[Visual: The lines connecting the tree diagram disappear, so that all of the icons float unattached at the bottom. A strike-through line appears across the word "Accommodation." The only line left connects "Accommodation" to the person at the top.]

Accommodation

Graham Spero: How can we expect someone who has an accommodation at their desk to participate fully in the meeting space if that meeting space isn't accommodating and accessible to them?

[Visual: The icons and diagrams disappear, and a shot of Graham Spero sitting appears.]

Graham Spero: And that's exactly what we're trying to fix at the Public Health Agency of Canada, and that's why I'm here talking to you today about the Accessible and Inclusive Meeting Spaces initiative.

[Visual: A drawing of a desk appears. Above the drawing of the desk, the words, "Duty to Accommodate" appear.]

Duty to Accommodate

[Visual: The desk slides to the left, and a drawing of a round meeting table with chairs pulled around appears to the right of the desk. The meeting slides to the right.]

[Visual: A row of seven icons representing people appear across the bottom of the screen.]

Graham Spero: That's taking the duty to accommodate beyond the cubicle and into the boardroom to create an accessible meeting space for all, one with a variety of accommodations. Really, a workplace that works for everyone.

[Visual: The images and text disappear, and a shot of Graham Spero appears.]

Graham Spero: This initiative is an initiative for persons with disabilities, and by persons with disabilities.

[Visual: Shot of Maayan Ziv, speaking to camera.]

Maayan Ziv
AccessNow

Maayan Ziv: We all have something to gain from an accessible space, and therefore a more inclusive space.

Maayan Ziv: I am a wheelchair user, I was born with a type of disability under the muscular dystrophy kind of bracket, and basically what that means is that throughout my life and my experience, I've constantly been needing to negotiate with the built environment.

[Visual: A icon representing the upper body of a person appears at the top of the screen. A thin line stretches down from the icon of the person, and connects to a drawing of a skyscraper inside. Another line crosses the vertical line horizontally. At each end of the horizontal line is a circle. The one on the left contains a drawing of a very tall skyscraper, and the one on the right contains a building with a domed roof.]

[Visual: A circle pops into the centre. Inside the circle is a drawing of a flight of stairs. As the circle with the steps appears, the connecting lines disappear.]

Maayan Ziv: I've always come across barriers, you know, whether they be steps, or just a lack of access in general.

[Visual: Shot of Maayan Ziv, speaking to camera.]

Maayan Ziv: That was really the catalyst that led me to the discovery of- of building a platform, which is called AccessNow.

[Visual: A window pops up, showing the AccessNow website portal, with buttons to download the app from the Apple Store or the Google Play Store. Behind the buttons, a shot of Maayan and her friends moving down a Toronto street can be seen.]

[Visual: The computer window disappears, and a drawing of a grid of streets appears. Many green map pins pop up, with a thumbs-up icon inside, indicating businesses that are accessible.]

[Visual: More map pins pop up, the next ones yellow, indicating businesses that are partially accessible.]

[Visual: More map pins pop up, these ones red, indicating businesses that are not accessible.]

Maayan Ziv: AccessNow is a mobile app and website that allows people to search for and discover places that are accessible, or partially accessible or not accessible.

[Visual: The images and purple background disappear, and a shot of Maayan Ziv speaking ot camera appears.]

Maayan Ziv: The idea is to work towards a culture shift, in which we all recognize and understand the importance of accessibility. The power of it.

[Visual: The words "What can" appear at the top, with "all public servants" appearing in a larger font, and the words, "do to improve accessibility in the built environment" appear underneath.]

What can all public servants do to improve accessibility in the built environment?

Narrator: What can all public servants do to improve accessibility in the built environment?

[Visual: The title screen disappears, and a shot of Maayan Ziv speaking to camera appears.]

[Visual: The words, "Why accessibility matters" appear.]

Why
accessibility
matters

Maayan Ziv: Before you actually do anything, is understand or think deeply about why accessibility matters.

Accessibility is a
competitive advantage

Maayan Ziv: Accessibility is a competitive advantage to every person's work, and every employer,

[Visual: The text disappears. The words, "Achieve inclusion" appear.]

Achieve inclusion

Maayan Ziv: and the way in which we achieve inclusion in general. Accessibility is integral to doing that.

[Visual: The background and text fade out, and a shot of Maayan Ziv speaking to camera appears.]

Maayan Ziv: And I think tapping into, what is it in my own work that I can do to remove barriers?

[Visual: A drawing of a sheet of paper appears, covered with horizontal lines representing text. A magnifying glass hovers over the paper, ]

Maayan Ziv: Maybe it's checking your documents to make sure they're accessible.

[Visual: The paper and magnifying glass move to the left, and a drawing of a round table surrounded by white office chairs appears and comes to rest to the right. As the table comes to rest on the right, one of the chairs pulls out, and moves away from the table, leaving a gap.]

Maayan Ziv: Maybe it's moving a chair out of the way. There are so many little things you could do all the time,

[Visual: The images and background disappear, and a shot of Maayan Ziv speaking to camera appears.]

Maayan Ziv: but recognizing the need to, and the importance and the motivation for why that's important.

[Visual: The view cuts to a shot of the panel. The participants all look towards Sandrine Thibault, who is speaking to the panel and the audience.]

[Visual: Close ups of Sandrine Thibault alternate with shots of her addressing the panel, as they listen to her.]

Sandrine Thibault: For me, it's awareness. Talk to people. Talk to your colleagues who have disabilities. Understand what their needs are, educate yourself a little bit. I think that's a great first step.

[Visual: Christopher Robinson addresses the panel and the audience.]

Christopher Robinson:  It's moving beyond just that personal accommodation, to building a more inclusive environment.

[Visual: 19 icons representing people, appear, scattered across the screen.]

[Visual: Six of the icons, scattered across the screen, are ringed round by an animated white circle that draws into existence, and then fades out quickly.]

[Visual: As the individual circles fade out, the icons of the people all slide in to the centre of the screen, and form a tight circle in the centre, which is then ringed round by an animated pink line.]

Christopher Robinson: We have to stop thinking about just the individuals, and more of that, let's make this space inclusive for all people who will use it.

[Visual: The background and images disappear, and a shot of Christopher Robinson appears.]

Christopher Robinson: I think the number one thing that anyone within the public service can do is just listen. Just listen to your colleagues, listen to- uh, to their requirements. Listen to their challenges in the workspace, and try to advocate for change that way, and try to effect change that way.

[Visual: A drawing of a clipboard appears. a sheet of paper is clipped to the clipboard. On the paper, horizontal lines down the left-hand side represent text. To the right of the lines, A row of four circles lines up next to each block of lines representing text.]

Graham Spero: The average public servant can take the Duty to Accommodate Training, which is mandatory for managers.

[Visual: An "x" appears in one circle in each row of circles on the paper, as though the questions were being answered.]

Graham Spero: You can create accessible documents.

[Visual: Two icons appear representing the head and shoulders of a person. The person on the left is blue, and the one on the right is pink.)

[Visual: A speech bubble pops out from the head of the blue person. Inside the speech bubble is a question mark.]

Graham Spero: You can also ask people before a meeting: "Do you require an accommodation?"

[Visual: The images and background disappear, and a shot of Graham Spero addressing the panel and the audience appears.]

Graham Spero: Most importantly, not all disabilities are visible. So it's not always about the built environment, and- I think everyone just needs to be more understanding.

Graham Spero: Just being a kind human being, and being more understanding I think is uh, something we can all do to make the workplace more accessible and inclusive.

[Visual: The text, "Spotlight on ACCESSibility Micro-Learning Series:" with the words "Built Environment".]

Spotlight on ACCESSibility Micro-learning Series:
Built Environment

Narrator: Spotlight on ACCESSibility Micro-Learning Series: Built Environment.

[Visual: The words, "For more information, please consult" appear. Below, the words, "The Canada School of Public Service's Website" appear. Below that, the words, "Please find the links in the video description below" appear.]

For more information, please consult
the Canada School of Public Service's Website
Please find the links in the
video description below.

Narrator: For more information, please consult the Canada School of Public Service's website. Please find the links in the video description below.

Music ends

[Visual: Text fades out.]

Fades to black

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