Accessibility Policy

We are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of technology or ability, and aim to create an environment that enables anyone to participate fully in the use of this website.

We are actively working to increase the accessibility and usability of our website and in doing so adhere to many of the available standards and guidelines.

Accessibility guidelines

Our aim is to ensure that all pages of this website conform to Level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0), along with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA). These guidelines are the internationally and provincial recognized benchmark for building accessible websites.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines explain how to make web content more accessible for people with disabilities. Conformance with these guidelines also makes web content more user friendly for all people.

Website standards compliance

This site has been built using code compliant with W3C standards for HTML and CSS.

While we strive to adhere to the accepted guidelines and standards for accessibility and usability, it is not always possible to do so in all areas of the website.

Where possible use an up-to-date browser

By using an up-to-date browser (the program you use to access the internet), you will have access to a much richer set of options to aid you as you navigate your way around this site.

Our website is built using Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), according to World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards.

It is designed to comply with our own accessibility standards, in line with recognized best practice.

We also try to ensure that:

• All images on our site contain appropriate alternate text
• Pages and images on this website are optimized to load quickly and smoothly
• All foreground and background colours are checked to ensure sufficient contrast or given alternative text in the case of images
• Our content is written clearly, concisely, free of jargon and in plain English
• All pages use headings
• All ‘calls to action’ are highlighted with icons and/or different colour font or underlined
• Symbols (e.g. >) are used in context and for their semantic use
• Consistent navigation and page layouts are used
• All forms are navigable using a keyboard
• We have a submit button on all forms
• We use cascading style sheets to control layout and presentation

We are continually seeking out solutions that will bring all areas of the site up to the same level of overall web accessibility. Please feel free to complete the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disability Act, 2005 (AODA) Feedback Form with your comments and/or suggestions.

Contact information

If you experience any problem accessing the site, then please contact us.