Staff Report: Accessible BC Act - Municipal Requirements - Update

ACCESSIBLE BC ACT – MUNICIPAL REQUIREMENTS - UPDATE

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the municipality participate in a joint intermunicipal staff accessibility advisory committee – the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee – with partners to include the City of Colwood, the Township of Esquimalt, the District of Highlands, the City of Langford, the District of Metchosin, the District of Sooke and the Town of View Royal;

AND THAT terms of reference for this joint intermunicipal staff accessibility advisory committee be provided for consideration of approval in the fall of 2023;

AND THAT each member municipality of this joint intermunicipal staff accessibility advisory committee allocate nominal annual operating funds for committee expenses;

AND THAT the joint sub-regional staff accessibility advisory committee prepare the initial accessibility plan with a focus on service delivery and employment;

AND THAT the funding allocated in Year 1 of the 2023-2027 Financial Plan originally for development of the accessibility plan be used, as funds permit, instead for:

• assistance, as and if required, with development of the accessibility plan;
• facilitated engagement sessions on barriers faced by the public in accessing services of the partner municipalities; and
• a specific project or initiative to begin to identify accessibility barriers, for example, assessments of the partner municipalities’ websites, hiring practices, or main municipal hall buildings;

AND FURTHER THAT the Town of View Royal establish an email address to receive public comments as set out in the Accessible BC Act.

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER’S COMMENTS:

I concur with the recommendation.

PURPOSE OF REPORT:

To provide a pathway forward in meeting the Accessible BC Act requirements.

BACKGROUND:

At the March 14, 2023 Committee of the Whole meeting, the Committee considered a report (see Attachment “A”) detailing the three requirements of municipalities with respect to the new Accessible BC Act – to establish a committee, to develop an accessibility plan, and to establish a process for receiving public comments.

At that meeting, the Committee passed the following resolution:

THAT the Committee recommend to Council that the report dated March 6, 2023 from the Corporate Officer titled “Accessible BC Act – Municipal Requirements” be tabled to the May 2023 Committee of the Whole meeting. (COW-22-23/C-46-23)

Due to the tight timeline to prepare an accessibility plan (a September 1, 2023 legislated compliance date), staff brought forward a second report to the April 4, 2023 Council meeting (see Attachment “B”) summarizing what other municipalities in the partnership had supported to date regarding a.) the formation of a joint sub-regional accessibility committee (the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee), b.) terms of reference for this committee, c.) funding for the preparation of an accessibility plan, and d.) establishment of an email address to receive public comments; and again sought confirmation to proceed on the three requirements. That report indicated that five of the seven partner municipalities supported proceeding with these steps (with Highlands providing $5,000 (based on earlier estimate); Sooke approving on the condition that all seven participate; and Colwood agreeing to development of the plan but wanting IACDI’s feedback on the staff report).

At that meeting, Council passed the following resolution:

THAT View Royal provide an equal share of the costs (of up to $10,000) to retain a consultant to prepare an accessibility plan which member municipalities will apply to their own accessibility initiatives. (C52-23)

As requested at both the March Committee of the Whole meeting and the April Council meeting, the Corporate Officer did attend the April 20, 2023 Intermunicipal Advisory Committee on Disability Issues (IACDI). A follow-up report was provided to the May 2 Council meeting (see Attachment “C”) that summarized that April 20 IACDI meeting, including the decision to proceed with a smaller group from IACDI and the Corporate Officers from the partner municipalities (City of Colwood, Township of Esquimalt, District of Highlands, City of Langford, District of Metchosin, District of Sooke and Town of View Royal) to work together on a revised committee terms of reference near the end of May 2023. The timing of this meeting was to accommodate IACDI’s planned special meeting set for June 15, 2023 where they could review the working group’s proposal with a view to endorsement of the revised terms of reference.

The working group did meet May 30 and discussed:

• the scope of work for an accessibility plan consultant;
• if and how elected officials could be members of the new accessibility committee;
• committee size;
• the range of options for potential involvement by IACDI; and
• the draft terms of reference that the partner municipalities had considered in March and April.

A decision was made at the May 30 meeting by the working group to hold a follow-up meeting to further discuss terms of reference.

In the meantime, IACDI forwarded a letter dated June 5, 2023 requesting:

• that the proposed accessibility email feedback tool automatically copy an external IACDI Gmail account;
• that community feedback sessions be undertaken through a consultant with lived experience;
• that IACDI be endorsed as the accessibility committee; and
• that, if not already in place, appointments of Council members, alternate Council members, and citizen representatives be made from the partner municipalities to the committee.

The letter was considered at the June 20, 2023 meeting of Council. A motion made to designate IACDI as View Royal’s accessibility committee, to have staff continue to work with IACDI on their terms of reference to ensure compliance with legislation, and to have a citizen representative appointed to this new View Royal committee by the Town’s current IACDI representatives was tabled after discussion. At the meeting Council and staff discussed the follow-up meeting anticipated between representatives from IACDI and area Corporate Officers; the legislative requirements and timelines; iterative consultation on an accessibility plan; and any appointment of a citizen representative to IACDI would be through the typical appointment process. Also discussed at that meeting were various accessibility committee options, including one from the Province’s Director of Policy for the Accessibility Directorate. This report provides more detail about this option discussed at the June 20 meeting.

IACDI held their originally scheduled June 15 meeting on June 22, 2023 and View Royal’s representative, Councillor Brown, attended.

DISCUSSION:

The Accessible BC Act sets out that an organization “must consult with its accessibility committee” in the development of its accessibility plan (s. 11 (4)). Given the challenges experienced to date in forming a workable committee – thus hampering the development of the required accessibility plan – and in advance of the anticipated working group follow-up meeting, staff reached out to Dr. Mike Prescott, Project Manager for Disability Alliance BC and lead for the Province’s team (BC Accessibility Hub) working to implement the new legislation. The purpose in contacting Dr. Prescott was to seek input and advice for a productive path forward on the accessibility plan that the partner municipalities have all agreed to proceed with.

After some discussion, Dr. Prescott referred staff to the Province’s Accessibility Directorate, Policy Director, Krissi Spinoza. During the meeting with Ms. Spinoza, options for the accessibility committee formation were considered. Ms. Spinoza suggested that a joint intermunicipal staff accessibility advisory committee may be a good approach as it would embed accessibility concepts “into the DNA” of municipal organizations. This approach aims to see staff more educated/informed, building into the local government’s work a foundational lens of accessibility across all departments. In this way, accessibility concepts become second nature and come through in staff work – not only the day-to-day operations, but also capital project requests, core and non-core projects, RFPs, etc. can reflect the language and requirements of accessibility. Ms. Spinoza noted that over time, the accessibility committee’s membership could shift, if and as required, as it is not set in stone.

The Corporate Officers could be the joint intermunicipal accessibility committee and, depending on the agenda topic, call upon the appropriate staff members for input and/or participation (for example, an accessibility awareness training program could be arranged for various departments, such as Parks staff or front office staff, from the partner municipalities, growing and evolving over time).

While further discussion is required to understand terms of reference for a joint intermunicipal staff accessibility advisory committee, those can be detailed in the coming months and be provided to Council for consideration in the fall of 2023. What is still the same as proposed in the original terms of reference from March/April 2023, is that under a joint intermunicipal staff accessibility advisory committee, meetings would be open to the public, agendas available in advance, minutes available on websites, and recommendations would be directed to all or individual member municipalities, depending on the nature of the topic at hand. That is, for broad or systemic matters, recommendations would be directed to all partner municipalities. If the matter is an individual, specific topic relating only to one municipality, a recommendation would be specific to that municipality – and their staff and Council – would address it on their own.

With respect to the accessibility plan itself, Ms. Spinoza suggested that municipalities could look to mirror what the Province is doing for their accessibility plan – that is, look at service delivery and employment for the first three-year plan scope. In the discussion, staff and Ms. Spinoza considered the possibility that this joint intermunicipal staff accessibility advisory committee – through the benefit of the template provided by the Disability Alliance BC and the collegial working relationship amongst the partner municipalities’ Corporate Officers – may be able to write much or all of the first accessibility plan if it was kept within a manageable scope.

Funds otherwise earmarked in Year 1 of the 2023-2027 Financial Plan for a consultant to write the accessibility plan could be re-directed towards an item IACDI requested in their June 6, 2023 letter – that is, facilitated public engagement to drill down into the identification of barriers faced when accessing the partner municipalities – be these physical, policy, or communication related barriers, for example. Input from this engagement could be included in the accessibility plan and help to inform recommendations brought forward to the partner municipalities for consideration through projects in the coming years.

Some funds may still be necessary to complete some areas of the accessibility plan. Should there be remaining funds, available, progress can be made on specific items such as assessments of the readability of municipal websites, the accessibility of municipal buildings, or hiring practices.

NEXT STEPS:

Staff have been unable to secure a follow-up working group meeting with IACDI representatives and it would be beneficial, before partner Council’s recess in August, to proceed to get a plan of action in place.

Staff propose proceeding with the Accessibility Directorate’s suggestion of a joint intermunicipal staff accessibility advisory committee; establishing the email address of accessibility@viewroyal.ca to receive comments from the public; working with the partner municipalities on webpage content to share information with the public about this initiative; and engaging a consultant to facilitate public feedback on barriers faced in accessing the partner municipalities’ services.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:

While this province-wide legislation will incur costs for prescribed organizations, the seven partner municipalities in this initiative have all expressed a willingness to participate jointly.

TIME CRITICAL:

While September 1, 2023 – the due date listed in the Accessible BC Act to have an accessibility plan, committee, and feedback tool in place – is not a firm deadline, representatives from the Province have indicated that there is an expectation that municipalities will at least “have a plan to have a plan” by that date.

It is becoming imperative that the municipalities proceed; the staff recommendation aims to move forward with the development of an inaugural accessibility plan.

ALTERNATIVES:

Other options to form an accessibility committee include the following:

i.) that each municipality form their own staff committee

As with a joint intermunicipal staff accessibility advisory committee described in the body of this report, this alternative would:

• develop a strong base on which to build the accessibility plan; provide increased understanding and capacity from staff for projects/initiatives;
• begin the internal cultural/attitudinal shift for the municipality;
• allow a municipality to choose to be in alignment with the Provincial approach by starting with service delivery and employment reviews (and in so doing, ideally utilize/leverage Provincial research and tools to save resources);
• see committee work focused on the requirements of the Accessible BC Act and direction from Council; and
• over time, permit a municipality to shift the committee structure away from staff to a different structure if deemed desirable.

This option differs from the joint intermunicipal staff approach as, with this option, each municipality would have to develop their own accessibility plan – though the RFP for a consultant to undertake the work and approach could be shared information. The committee would also be resourced internally with each municipality responsible for its own needs.

ii.) that each municipality form their own public committee

As with a joint intermunicipal staff advisory committee described in the body of this report, this option would:

• allow a municipality to choose to be in alignment with the Provincial approach by starting with service delivery and employment reviews (and in so doing, ideally utilize/leverage Provincial research and tools to save resources); and
• see committee work focused on the requirements of the Accessible BC Act and direction from Council.

This option differs from the joint intermunicipal staff approach as, with this option, each municipality would have to develop their own accessibility plan – though the RFP for a consultant to undertake the work and approach could be shared information. The committee would also be resourced internally with each municipality responsible for its own needs. As well, this option would see meeting processes and support/resourcing generally in alignment with municipal practices for all other committees.

iii.) that IACDI becomes the new committee

With this option:

• appointments to the committee would be made by Councils;
• meeting processes and support/resourcing would be generally in alignment with municipal practices for all other committees;
• the committee would be ineligible for grant in aid funds;
• committee work would be focused on the requirements of the Accessible BC Act and direction from Council – work would not include inspections, hosting of social events; and
• Councils would direct staff work, for example, to create the accessibility plan and establish a process for receiving comments.

iv.) that a new joint intermunicipal committee be formed.

This is the original option proposed in March/April. With this option:

• appointments to the committee would be made by Councils;
• an IACDI community committee member could be selected to be a Council’s representative, serving as a linkage between the two groups;
• IACDI would continue its current operations/approach, including the hosting of social events;
• IACDI would retain its ability to apply for grant in aid funding with most municipalities;
• meeting processes and support/resourcing would be generally in alignment with municipal practices for all other committees;
• committee work would be focused on the requirements of the Accessible BC Act and direction from Councils; and
• elected officials would direct staff work, for example, to create the accessibility plan and establish a process for receiving comments.

CONCLUSION:

This report details an action plan based on advice from the Accessibility Directorate to advance the work in our communities that will see improved access through the removal of barriers over time.

The Corporate Officers from the City of Colwood, Township of Esquimalt, District of Highlands, City of Langford, District of Metchosin, District of Sooke and Town of View Royal are able to form a joint intermunicipal staff accessibility advisory committee. In this structure, the committee can begin work on the accessibility plan with an initial three-year focus on employment and service delivery, and retain a consultant to undertake public engagement to identify barriers people may face in our communities in accessing local government.

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the municipality participate in a joint intermunicipal staff accessibility advisory committee – the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee – with partners to include the City of Colwood, the Township of Esquimalt, the District of Highlands, the City of Langford, the District of Metchosin, the District of Sooke and the Town of View Royal;

AND THAT terms of reference for this joint intermunicipal staff accessibility advisory committee be provided for consideration of approval in the fall of 2023;

AND THAT each member municipality of this joint intermunicipal staff accessibility advisory committee allocate nominal annual operating funds for committee expenses;

AND THAT the joint sub-regional staff accessibility advisory committee prepare the initial accessibility plan with a focus on service delivery and employment;

AND THAT the funding allocated in Year 1 of the 2023-2027 Financial Plan originally for development of the accessibility plan be used, as funds permit, instead for:

• assistance, as and if required, with development of the accessibility plan;
• facilitated engagement sessions on barriers faced by the public in accessing services of the partner municipalities; and
• a specific project or initiative to begin to identify accessibility barriers, for example, assessments of the partner municipalities’ websites, hiring practices, or main municipal hall buildings;

AND FURTHER THAT the Town of View Royal establish an email address to receive public comments as set out in the Accessible BC Act.

SUBMITTED BY: Sarah Jones, Corporate Officer

REVIEWED BY: Kim Anema, Chief Administrative Officer