Accessibility
The Township of Howick is committed to removing barriers to access programs and services in our community and our goal is to provide equal opportunities for all under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, S.O. 2001, c.32 (AODA).
We can only mandate accessibility of facilities and services owned, operated, leased and funded by the Township. We encourage you to have discussions with owners and managers of restaurants, stores and other private sector venues about improving their accessibility standards and services.
In order to help Howick Township meet the requirements of the AODA, we have created the following policies and plans:
- Township of Howick Accessibility Policies
- Township of Howick Accessibility Standards for Customer Service & Use of Assisted Devices
- 2024-2029 Multi-Year Accessibility Plan - Under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) Howick Township is required to plan and implement a multi-year accessibility plan. Howick Township is a member of the Huron County Accessibility Advisory Committee and has adopted the Huron County Accessibility Plan and Multi-Year Accessibility Plan
- Huron County Accessibility Advisory Committee 2025 Annual Accessibility Plan
- Universal Design and Accessibility Guideline for Site Plan Control
Township of Howick Procurement Policy
Do you have an Accessibility Concern? Please submit an Accessible Customer Service Barrier Report located at the bottom of this page.
Accessibility Disclaimer
The Township of Howick is committed to responding to the accessibility needs of the community. This commitment extends to our website. The Township's website has been designed to be WCAG 2.0 level AA compliant and meets the Province of Ontario's Accessible Information and Communications Standard (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005).
Whenever possible, documents (PDF, Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint) are posted to the website as accessible documents. An ongoing effort is being made to make historical documents available and compliant with the standard, although there are some limits in our ability to do so.
The Township recognizes situations where it is not practicable or possible to present content in an accessible format. In these cases, best efforts are used to provide citizens an accessible alternative or assistance in acquiring the information they need. Should you need assistance in obtaining an accessible alternative for non accessible content, contact the Township by dialing 519-335-3208 x.2 or emailing clerk@howick.ca.
Examples of such exceptions include:
- Mapping or GIS data.
- Engineering drawings or complex technical data.
- Legacy applications or data that cannot be updated or cannot be updated with reasonable effort/expenses.
- Vendor web applications where the Township was unable to negotiate contractual obligation to maintain accessibility.
- Presentation content where rendering accessibility would hinder the ability to achieve its intended purpose.
- Content that cannot be rendered accessible without significant impact.
- Excel documents i.e. financial information
Standards for External Contributors
In order to maintain its accessibility standards, the Township expects all content provided by external contributors to be delivered in compliance with the WCAG 2.0 Level A and the Province of Ontario's Accessible Information and Communications Standard.
The Township will accept no responsibility for converting non accessible content provided by external contributors, train external contributors on accessibility or incur costs related to acquiring tools required to meet the requirement.