Accessibility Policy

Thorsteinssons Accessibility Policy

Thorsteinssons LLP (the “Firm”) is committed to removing and preventing barriers to accessibility and meeting our accessibility requirements under the Accessible British Columbia Act and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (collectively the “Acts”), the Integrated Accessibility Standards (the “Regulation”), and Ontario’s accessibility laws. We are committed to providing accessible customer service to people with disabilities and to improving accessibility for our clients and our employees.  We are committed to ensuring that our policies, procedures and practices relating to accessibility are guided by the principles of dignity, independence, integration, and equality of access. We are committed to meeting the needs of people with disabilities in a timely manner.

Accessible Communications

The Firm will communicate with people with disabilities in ways that takes into account their disability. When asked, we will provide information about our organization and its services, including public safety information, in accessible formats or with communication supports. We will consult with the person making the request for information to determine the suitability of any format or communication support. Any requests for accessible formats or communication supports will be addressed in a timely manner and the individual will not be charged at a cost higher than that charged to others for the same information.

Service Animals

The Firm welcomes people with disabilities and their service animals. Service animals are allowed on the parts of our premises that are open to the public. Often, a service animal can be easily identified through visual indicators. When we cannot easily identify that an animal is a service animal, our staff may ask a person to provide documentation from a regulated health professional, as defined in the Regulation, that confirms the person needs the service animal for reasons relating to their disability.

Support Persons

A person with a disability who is accompanied by a support person will be allowed to have that person accompany them on our premises. The Firm might require a person with a disability to be accompanied by a support person for the health or safety reasons of the person with a disability or others. In such circumstances, we will consult with the person with a disability to understand their needs, consider health or safety reasons based on available evidence, and determine if there are any other reasonable ways to protect the health or safety of the person or others on the premises.

Assistive Devices

People with disabilities may use their personal assistive devices when accessing our services. In cases where the assistive device presents a significant and unavoidable health or safety concern or may not be permitted for other reasons, other measures will be used to ensure the person with a disability can access our services.

We will ensure that our staff are trained and familiar with various assistive devices that may be used by customers with disabilities while accessing our goods, services or facilities.

Notice of Temporary Disruptions

In the event of a planned or unexpected disruption to services or facilities provided by the Firm and used by persons with disabilities, including a power outage or disruption in elevator service, the Firm will notify customers promptly.

This notice will include information about the reason for the disruption, its anticipated length of time, and a description of alternative facilities or services, if available. The notice will be placed at our reception area and on our website.  In addition, where we are aware that a person with a disability intended to use the service or facility during the period of disruption, we will contact that individual directly to advise them of the disruption.

Training of Staff

The Firm will ensure that staff, volunteers and third parties providing services on our behalf are trained on British Columbia’s and Ontario’s accessibility laws and aspects of both province’s Human Rights Code that relate to persons with disabilities and will keep a record of this training. We will train our employees on accessibility as it relates to their specific roles and will ensure that the training includes specific instruction on how to interact and communicate with persons with various types of disabilities. Training will be provided within 30 days of hire, and on an ongoing basis for all employees following any changes to this policy.

Feedback process

The Firm welcomes feedback on how we provide services to persons with disabilities. Customer feedback assists us to identify barriers and respond to concerns.

Individuals who wish to provide feedback can do so by submitting their feedback as follows:

Email: thor@thor.ca

Mail:

Suite 2600 – 1090 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC V6E 0E3

Phone:
VANCOUVER 604-689-1261
TORONTO 416-864-0829

Distribution of Policy

The Firm will provide a copy of the Policy to individuals requesting it, in an accessible format if required.