Clearview struggles to meet request for accessible documents

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Council has decided not to hire an additional staff member to process a request from a Clearview resident to provide copies of all current bylaws, policies, procedures and referenced documents, certified for both content and AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005) compliance.

The issue was first discussed at the June 25 council meeting and then deferred to the July 16 meeting.

The Echo was not present at the second meeting when council voted for a second option to “direct staff to send correspondence to the requestor indicating that Clearview Township is not able to facilitate the request as it is currently submitted; And further, should the requestor provide insight into the scope and the priority of the documents required, staff will facilitate the request in a timely manner.”

The cost of paying for a staff member to do the work over six months was estimated at a minimum of $30,000.

The gist of the conversation was that staff is “struggling to deal with a request of this magnitude” and they don’t know where to start. The request is for active bylaws for Clearview and the four communities that became Clearview at the time of amalgamation (Stayner, Creemore, Nottawasaga and Sunnidale), dating back to the 1800s. Many are not electronic and would need to be converted.

Human Resources manager Tammy Gill said she had been consulting with provincial officials  “as [the request] is quite unusual”. 

The consequences of not fulfilling the request, and under what timeframe, were discussed, as well as the frustration it has caused.

There was some support for fulfilling the request, as recommended by the Clearview Accessibility Committee.

“Even if they are playing possum with us, we should do it,” said Councillor Shawn Davidson. “Someone else may ask later.”

Councillor Doug Measures agreed, saying they are trying to create a culture of accessibility across the township.

Mayor Christopher Vanderkruys called the request unreasonable, saying the requester should provide specifics.

“We should hold ourselves to the ground and see what comes of it,” he said.

The name of the resident was not disclosed at the meeting but Creemore resident Peter Lomath wrote to The Echo about the request for documents. 

“The law says we can get this stuff, you just have to ask for it,” Lomath told The Echo. 

He admits he has a tumultuous relationship with the township and has been severely limited in how he communicates with staff. His e-mailed correspondence has been restricted to one question per month, in 20 words or less, which must be sent to the CAO, as per the Unreasonable Customer Service Policy.

He is a regular user of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and has since filed an FOI request for the records supporting the report presented to council by staff related to the request for the AODA compliant documents. 

Lomath said the request is the result of a real need for accessible documents and began as a favour to a neighbour who is seeing impaired. He said he asked specifically for the current bylaws and suggested a manner of determining priority, beginning with those that are most commonly requested by the public.

“They all knew the real scope of the request,” said Lomath.

He said, regardless, all township documents and its website are to be made AODA compliant and the township has known this was coming since 2005. The technology for creating AODA compliant documents is built right in to computer programs, such as Word and Acrobat. He is also concerned the new township website may not be compliant.

“I am not doing this to piss anyone off,” said Lomath. “I’ve made a hobby of it. I make no bones about it but they’ve done it to themselves.”

He said the request has since been withdrawn and he has filed a formal complaint with the Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility. 

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