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Accessible member service

Comments about our service are welcomed and appreciated. You may provide feedback or complaints in person to a store’s senior managers. If store management is unable to rectify a concern, you can provide feedback in writing, by e-mail, by phone or fax, or by regular post.

Direct any communications to our Head Office through the following channels:

Attn: Director, HR Business Management and Strategic Partnerships
Address: Suite 101 – 887 Great Northern Way
City: Vancouver, BC  V5T 4T5
Phone: 604.707.3300 or Fax: 604.731.3826
Email: accessibility@mec.ca

Feedback

MEC will respond or follow up within 30 days, unless there are circumstances that prevent such response time. If a response is delayed, the person providing the feedback or making a complaint will be apprised of the delay. Feedback and/or responses will be delivered in a format that is accessible to the complainant.

Format of documents

If MEC is required to provide a copy of any document available under the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service to a person with a disability, MEC will provide the documents, or the information contained within the document, in a format that takes into account the person’s disability.

Policy summary

MEC’s Accessible Member Service Policy governs how we provides goods and services to members in accordance with the requirements of the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service, Ontario Regulation 429/07 of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) and the core principles of independence, dignity, integration and equality of opportunity.

The term disability as defined by the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, and the Ontario Human Rights Code, refers to:

  • any degree of physical disability, infirmity, malformation or disfigurement that is caused by bodily injury, birth defect or illness and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, a brain injury, any degree of paralysis, amputation, lack of physical co-ordination, blindness or visual impediment, deafness or hearing impediment, muteness or speech impediment, or physical reliance on a guide dog or other animal or on a wheelchair or other remedial appliance or device;
  • a condition of mental impairment or a developmental disability;
  • a learning disability, or dysfunction in one or more of the processes involved in understanding or using symbols or spoken language;
  • a mental disorder; or
  • an injury or disability for which benefits were claimed or received under the insurance plan established under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997.

Communication and notice of temporary disruption

MEC will communicate with people with disabilities in ways that take into account their disability. In the event of a planned or unexpected disruption to service or facilities for members with disabilities MEC will notify members promptly. The 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.

Use of assistive devices

We recognize that some persons with disabilities may use assistive devices while accessing our stores and events. Persons with disabilities have the right to use their own assistive devices at all times, to obtain, use or benefit from MEC’s goods and services.

Use of service animals and support persons

Support persons and service animals are welcome to accompany our disabled members while shopping in our stores. All required store employees will receive training on how to interact with individuals requiring support persons and/or service animals.

Training for staff

MEC will provide training to employees, volunteers, contractors and/or consultants who deal with the public or other third parties on our behalf and all those who are involved in the development and approvals of member service policies, practices, and procedures. Training will be ongoing as long as there are changes to policies, procedures, and practices governing the provision of goods and service to person with disabilities. Training will embrace the core principles of ongoing respect for human dignity, independence, integration, and equity of opportunity.

Training will be provided as soon as practicable after an individual assumes responsibilities related to the public and will include the following:

  1. An overview of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 and the requirements of the Customer Service Standard.
  2. Information regarding MEC’s policies, practices, and procedures relating to the Customer Service Standards.
  3. How to interact and communicate with people with various types of disabilities.
  4. How to interact with people with disabilities who use an assistive devise or require the assistance of a service animal or a support person.
  5. What to do if a person with a particular type of disability is having difficulty accessing our goods or services.

MEC will keep a record of training that includes dates training was provided and the names and number of individuals to whom it was provided.

Integrated accessibility standards regulations (IASRs)

A third set of regulations enacted under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), establishes accessibility standards to remove barriers in the following three areas: Information and Communications, Employment and Transportation (this last standard listed does not apply to MEC).

MEC will establish, implement, maintain, and document a multi-year accessibility plan outlining its strategy to prevent and remove barriers and meet its requirements under the IASRs.

If MEC is required to provide a copy of any document available under the IASRs to a person with a disability, MEC will provide the documents, or the information contained within the document, in a format that takes into account the person’s disability.

MEC’S statement of organizational commitment

MEC is committed and guided by the four principles of dignity, independence, integration, and equal opportunity as set out in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005. MEC will meet the accessibility needs of persons with disabilities in a timely manner.

MEC is committed to establishing, maintaining and implementing policies as well as associated practices and procedures in the IASRs, specifically in the areas of information and communications and employment.