Make your event accessible to people of all abilities
Collingwood is committed to providing people of all abilities consistent opportunity and access to all Town events. Making your event accessible can increase the number of people who will attend. Letting people know about accessibility features in your promotional material will help them plan to participate.
Accessibility features are included throughout the event planning kit. This section will help you think in a more focused way about how accessible your event can be.
- Is your event on or near a public bus route?
- Is there accessible parking nearby?
- Is there room for someone with an accessible van to park and then to exit the van from the van’s side ramp?
- Is there a shuttle available for your event? Is it accessible for someone in a wheelchair?
If your event is inside a building:
- Are there stairs to get to the main entrance?
- Is there any entrance with a ramp or no stairs? If yes, where is it located?
- Is there an automatic door opener to any of the entrances? If yes, which entrance?
- Can you make a portable ramp available for someone using a walker, wheelchair or scooter?
- On doors that don’t have automatic openers, is there a door bell or knocker to alert someone to open the door?
- Can you arrange to have a volunteer available to open the entrance doors that don’t have automatic openers?
- Is the layout of the meeting space open enough for someone in a wheelchair to navigate?
- Is the lighting bright enough for someone with a vision disability?
- Is there a microphone available to ensure that everyone can hear?
- If you are seating people at tables, is there at least one table high enough to allow a person in a wheelchair to sit at this table?
- Is there an accessible washroom on the same floor as the main event room or close to the meeting space if the event is outside?
- If this room is not on the main floor, is there an elevator to the room?
- If the meeting space is outside, have you checked that the surface is level and hard enough to allow someone in a wheelchair or scooter to get around easily and safely?
- Have you checked for possible tripping hazards?
- Have you used clear, simple language in your advertisements and any materials you have created?
- If you’ve used charts or pictures, have you added an explanation in words that can be read out loud for people who have difficulty seeing pictures or understanding charts?
- Is the colour contrast on your signs, print materials or slide decks clear enough that someone with low vision could see and understand them?
- Do you have microphones to make sure that everyone can hear?
- Do you have signs to direct people to the meeting space and to washrooms?
- In your initial advertisements or invitation letters/emails, please ask people to contact you if they have accommodation needs for a disability or different ability. Remember this can include requests to accommodate food or environmental allergies, lighting requests (fluourescent lighting can trigger seizures in some people), accommodations for a service animal (e.g. a bowl of water and a place for the service animals to relieve themselves), ample breaks in the day to allow rest times, and many other requests.
- Once you have received these requests, work with the people making the requests to find the best way to accommodate their needs.
- On your feedback forms, include a question around accessibility e.g.
- Were your accommodation needs met?
- Did you find the event accessible?
- If not, what could we have done better to meet your needs?
Breastfeeding in Public Places
Applies to: All
Effective date: September 12, 2016 (Resolution No. 307-16)
Parks, Recreation and Culture
POLICY NUMBER:A09-PRC1601
Policy StatementThe Town of Collingwood welcomes and supports breastfeeding in all public places controlled by the municipality.
- PURPOSE/APPLICATIONThis policy applies to all employees of the Town of Collingwood and members of the public.
BACKGROUNDThe Town of Collingwood recognizes the important health benefits of breastfeeding for both the parent and their child. The Town aims to create an environment that protects, promotes, and supports exclusive breastfeeding for six (6) months and continued breastfeeding with addition of appropriate, complimentary foods for up to two (2) years of age and beyond (WHO, 2001). By supporting breastfeeding in this manner, the Town will strengthen the development of a breastfeeding culture throughout the Town.
In a policy document titled "Pregnancy and Breastfeeding: Your Rights and Responsibilities", the Ontario Human Rights Commission states that "women are legally protected from discrimination and harassment because of sex. This includes pregnancy and breastfeeding. For children, breastfeeding provides the highest attainable standard of health. A breastfeeding mother should not be disturbed, asked to cover up, or asked to move to another area".
CONDITIONSTown of Collingwood staff will welcome and support breastfeeding in any public place controlled but the Town.
Incidents of harassment that happen in Town facilities, or with Town staff, can be reported to the Town Clerk's office, as well as, the Ontario Human Rights Commission.
IMPLEMENTATIONSimcoe Muskoka District Health Unit protects, promotes, and supports breastfeeding and will provide information regarding support for breastfeeding in public to town staff and members of the public.
The policy statement will be posted on the Town's website.
EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITIESEmployees must demonstrate respect toward individuals breastfeeding in public.
Employees must allow and support breastfeeding individuals to breastfeed in public.
Employees will not disturb a breastfeeding individual, will not ask them to cover up or to move to another area.
A reasonable effort will be made to find a private space for a breastfeeding individual if they request it.
MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIESManagers will ensure that their staff is aware of this policy.
Managers will support their staff in allowing and supporting breastfeeding in public spaces controlled by the Town.
Managers will support breastfeeding individuals if difficulties arise in the provision of a public place to breastfeed their child free from harassment.
REFERENCES/RELATED INFORMATIONOntario Human Rights Commission, Pregnancy & Breastfeeding: Your Rights & Responsibilities
Ontario Human Rights Commission, Policy on Discrimination because of Pregnancy and Breastfeeding, 2001
World Health Organization/UNICEF, Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding
We hope you agree from our information on these pages that Collingwood is committed to accessibility. But to meet this commitment, we need your help. We've provided these tools so you can help us make the Town more accessible:
Barrier Identification Form: Use this form to tell us about problems or barriers to accessibility in Town and to give us suggestions about how to reduce or erase these barriers.
Accessible Customer Service Feedback Form: Let us know if Town Staff treated you accessibly. We want to know how we can improve and what we are doing right!
We're also interested in your ideas around accessibility. During Access Awareness Week, in the last week of May, we asked people who came to Town Hall to answer the question "What Does Accessibility mean to you?" Here are their answers:
- Access to: transportation, employment, entertainment and housing
- Affordability
- Affordable housing
- Badminton for seniors at Admiral Collingwood
- Be able to do all you are capable of doing
- Choice
- Community
- Compassion
- Control over my own life
- Elvis Festival and dancing
- Equality X2 ***
- Equity X2 ***
- Feeling secure that someone will help me if I need help
- Freedom X 5 ******
- Getting around town
- Getting involved
- Grateful that Collingwood has transit and stores my mum can use
- Great idea!
- Helping friends
- I would be able to see out of both eyes
- Inclusiveness X2***
- Inclusion
- Independently
- Independence
- Involvement
- Lowered fees for sports for my kids
- Lucky to live here
- Making it easy
- No divisions and excluding
- On my own
- Opportunity
- Participation
- Personalized support
- Positive attitude and accommodations
- Remember invisible disabilities and different ways of learning
- Respect
- Safe
- Scent free X2 ***
- Someone to read to me. I can't read or write
- Support for family caretakers of people with illness and disability
- Take Allergies seriously
- We all need it!!
- We love the playground at Black Ash Park!
We also want to know if you can access the information on this website or on our Town Page every week. Documents are available in alternate formats upon request. If you require an accessible format or communication support, please contact the Customer Service at 705-445-1030 or by email at townhall@collingwood.ca to discuss how best we can meet your needs.
