Guidelines: Accessible service delivery during emergencies including COVID-19

These guidelines contain practical information for organizations under federal regulations and their employees. They will help organizations remove accessibility barriers to their service delivery during emergencies.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, federal organizations have reviewed accessible emergencies procedures. This review taught many lessons about accessible responses to emergencies. These lessons have formed the basis of this document.

• These guidelines include best practices for accessibility.
• These guidelines will help you consider accessibility in your service approaches.
• These lists of best practices are not complete. They are a starting point. Adapt them to your specific needs.
• These guidelines are for use in planning responses to a wide range of emergencies. Not everything will apply to your organization for any given situation.
• When planning emergency responses, research the accessibility of your organization’s service delivery.
• They provide links to sources with more complete lists of accessibility features.
• Please note that what is accessible for some persons could be a barrier for others.
• Talking to employees and clients about their needs is key for accessibility measures.
• These guidelines do not mention specific populations. In making your service accessible, consider the needs of your community. For example:
  • First Nations communities have distinct cultures, and unique accessibility needs. Consider the inclusion of First Nations languages, and First Nations sign languages, as part of your inclusive communications.

These guidelines are not medical or legal advice. When needed, get advice from:

• a public health organization;
• a legal professional;
• your union; and
• your workplace health and safety committee.

You should note that local responses are the responsibility of:

• provincial;
• territorial; and
• municipal governments.

National disability organizations and other stakeholders helped create these guidelines.

Removing accessibility barriers before emergencies

All service delivery methods should be accessible by default, and inclusive by design. Accessibility policies should be in place at all times, including service delivery during emergencies.

Remove as many accessibility barriers as possible before any emergency. It will then be easier to remove new barriers created by an emergency.

Plan to adapt your service to emergencies. This should help you to maintain accessibility even when emergencies generate new barriers.

Maintaining accessibility features

Create a plan to keep your accessibility features updated at all times.

• Technology changes, and with it comes new accessibility barriers.
• Make sure that maintenance work on accessibility features starts immediately after an emergency.

For in-person service delivery:

• Check the most important areas for allowing access to your service.
• Focus on the maintenance of your most accessible service areas and pathways.
  • For example, if an emergency creates a physical barrier to your service delivery area, focus on clearing ramp access paths before stairways.

For remote service delivery, create a regular maintenance schedule for accessibility features.

• For example, an emergency might prevent the use of normal mailing routes. Find new support services to use during the emergency.
• Check all procedures for remote service delivery on a regular basis. Assess if an emergency means these procedures no longer work.

If an emergency makes it impossible to maintain your normal accessibility features, look at providing accommodations during emergencies.

Preparing to make emergency changes to services

Even with a plan, it can be very difficult or impossible to maintain all service delivery areas.

To deliver barrier-free services, you must prepare for unforeseen barriers caused by changes.

Consider persons with invisible disabilities. Be careful of making changes that might create significant stress or confusion. Communications about changes should be accessible, and in plain language.

Actions to take

Identify emergencies that could affect your service delivery procedures or your accessibility features.

• Assess your current accessibility features.
  • Develop a plan for replacing them.
  • Create alternatives if they become unusable due to an emergency.
• Create a plan for notifying the Canadian public about changes.
• Train your staff on accessibility.

During an emergency, some accessible services might become unavailable. Determine in advance what replacement services could be used. Ask your team:

• Is our built environment accessible to deliver services in-person during emergencies?
• Could in-person services be replaced by digital services?
• How can we deliver our service to Canadians who do not have access to the internet?

Making the built environment accessible

Create an accessible built environment before an emergency occurs.

Actions to take

To make sure your built environment lets you deliver accessible services at all times:

• consult accessibility experts;
• include the lived experience of persons with disabilities in the planning and design;
• make all public areas accessible to persons with disabilities using mobility aids, such as:
  • canes;
  • crutches;
  • walkers;
  • scooters;
  • wheelchairs; and
  • other assistive devices.

Make sure that there are enough options to get to your service delivery area. Follow guidelines on specific measurements for built environment elements like:

• the width of ramps;
• doorways;
• the distance between transportation and your service delivery area;
• outdoor accessible path features like curb cuts;
• accessible washrooms, including:
  • automatic doors
  • tactile controls
  • enough space for those with mobility aids to use all features
• indoor travel paths; and
• the size of a turning radius for a mobility aid.

Tip – Built environment for clean air during COVID-19

COVID-19 has shown the need for creating built environments with clear air in mind.

Many Canadians have Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS). Built environments focused on clean air is necessary to make your services accessible.

Make sure your built environment uses:

• Cleaning and building materials with no strong chemicals or scents;
• Strong air filtration systems; and
• Strong ventilation systems.

For instructions on planning construction and renovation projects:

• Consult the National Standard of Canada for accessible built environment.

Tip – Washrooms during COVID-19

Where you can, make all features touchless. This includes:

• faucets;
• toilet flush controls; and
• soap and paper towel dispensers.

Touchless features remove an accessibility barrier and help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Emergency Egress (exit)

Emergency egress is important. Accessible evacuation for all Canadians helps avoid serious injury or loss of life.

A plan must be in place to make sure all persons with disabilities can evacuate.

Evacuation plans

Plan to provide an accessible exit from your service delivery area.

Find out if your emergency exit has barriers to accessibility. Look to see if:

• the opening is wide enough for mobility aids;
• the door is automatic or uses easy-grip handles;
  • Easy-grip handles include lever or loop handles. These do not need you to grasp the handle tightly or twist your wrist.
• there are obstructions on the ground you must remove;
• there are physical barriers to mobility aids;
• you must use stairs to get to the exit;
• the exit is too far from the service delivery area; or
• there are any other accessibility barriers, as defined in the National Standard of Canada for accessible built environment.

Make sure that all alarms and emergency notification systems are accessible. For example:

• Have alarms that use both audio and visual cues.
• Ensure that alarms are visible and hearable in every room of the building.
• Note that very loud alarms can be a trigger for some neuro diverse people.
  • Consult with experts and persons with disabilities to make sure that the sounds and noise are effective, but not overwhelming or triggering.

Some built environments make it impossible to use accessible alarm systems. This means that members of the public or your staff won’t receive alerts when an emergency happens. Make plans to:

• check all rooms in the building in case of an emergency; and
• install accessible alarms at the earliest possible date.

Plan to have staff ready to organize an evacuation. Make sure to train these staff members in:

• communication with persons with disabilities;
• emergency egress best practices; and
• knowledge of accessible emergency exit routes and safe areas in the building.

Create a plan with persons with disabilities in mind

Include details for evacuating all persons with disabilities.

Create a plan that works for your built environment.

• Evacuations must include service animals.
• Some mobility aids might prevent the use of stairs.
  • Evacuation plans must provide a solution for evacuating people using mobility aids, even if elevators are unusable.
• Electric outages might prevent the use of mobility aids or assistive technology.
  • Determine if a generator is available to charge:
    • assistive devices; and
    • mobility aids during electricity outages.
• Do your accessibility features remove barriers for some, but create them for others?

Emergency exit paths

Make sure to mark emergency exits. Exits must have:

• lighting;
• tactile pathways; and
• accessible signage. For more detail, see:
  • Accessible communication during COVID-19 and other emergencies: A guideline for federal organizations.

Some persons with disabilities cannot use stairs.

• Try to offer all services on the same level as an accessible entrance to the building.
• If this is not possible, make sure that there is an accessible option, like an elevator.
• Some emergencies prevent the use of an elevator. Solutions will be different for each building. Research what accessibility features could work in your built environment.

Tips –emergency exits during COVID-19

Install automatic doors with touchless entry. These can help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and can remove barriers caused by limited space.

If you must use a door that is not automatic, provide hand sanitizer stations nearby to reduce the risk of spreading infection. Hand sanitizers with alcohol can create barriers for people with chemical sensitivities. Provide alternatives from the Health Canada approved list. During public health emergencies, the number of people allowed in elevators might be reduced. Consider accessibility needs while following public health guidelines.

• Make it clear how many people are allowed in the elevator. This will help everyone maintain a safe physical distance.
• Be clear about the number of people allowed when there is a person using a mobility aid.
• In larger elevators, use tactile markers on the floor to create physical distance.

Notice – Upcoming standards for emergency egress

• Accessibility Standards Canada is developing national standards for accessible emergency egress.
• Follow these developments with our technical committee for emergency egress.

Make sure your service delivery is safe

Depending on the kind of emergency, you might need to ask individuals if they need help. When asking:

• Do not make assumptions about what persons with disabilities can or cannot do.
• Persons with the same disability may have different needs.
• Persons with disabilities have different preferences for meeting their disability-related needs.
• Do not make decisions for them. Do not tell them what to do.
• Always ask the person if they want help. Do not assume they need help.

Tip - Using videos to provide information

It can be helpful to use a video to provide information in key areas in a building. The video should be available in alternate formats such as:

• plain language;
• American Sign Language (ASL);
• Langue des signes Québécoise (LSQ) ;
• captioning; and
• described video.

Use videos:

• at entrances to the building telling people where to go and how to access services; and
• in waiting and seating areas for announcements.

Your organization must be accessible.

• Train your staff to provide accessible services.
• Make sure all staff are safe during emergencies.
• Make sure your organization is accessible for persons with disabilities on your staff.

You must deliver accessible services at all times. This includes:

• Delivering accessible services during ongoing states of emergency, and
• Delivering accessible services after emergencies.

You must prepare for emergencies.

• Remove all accessibility barriers in advance.
• Maintain accessibility features during emergencies.
• Prepare for emergency changes.
• Develop accessible built environment.
• Create an emergency egress plan.

Some changes must be made during emergencies.

• Make changes to keep everyone safe.
• Determine how to deliver accessible services.
• Create alternate service delivery methods.
• Make sure everyone can find their way.

Making your organization accessible for Canadians during emergencies:

• Maintains the human right to access, and
• Could save lives.