Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee Minutes

Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at 2:00 P.m. - 4:00 P.m.

Council Chambers & Electronic Meeting

PRESENT:

• M. Watmough, Corporate Officer, Langford
• D. Hopkins, Corporate Officer, Esquimalt
• M. Miles, Corporate Officer, Highlands
• S. Jones, Corporate Officer, View Royal
• T. Hansen, Corporate Officer, Metchosin
• M. Lalande, Corporate Officer, Colwood

ABSENT:

• J. Bagnall, Corporate Officer, District of Sooke

ATTENDING:

• E. Bolster, Deputy Corporate Officer, View Royal
• C. Lowe, IT Support Specialist
• N. Johnston, Legislative Services Administrative Coordinator

Meeting available by teleconference.

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1.

TERRITORIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

M. Watmough, Director of Legislative and Protective Services and Chair of the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee read the City of Langford's Territorial Acknowledgment.

2.

CALL TO ORDER

The Chair called the meeting to order at 2:07 pm.

3.

APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA

• MOVED BY: Deb Hopkins
  SECONDED: Melisa Miles

  THAT the Committee approve the agenda as presented.

  Motion CARRIED.

4.

ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES

Minutes of the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee - November 22, 2023 

• MOVED BY: Deb Hopkins
  SECONDED: Sarah Jones

  THAT the minutes of the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee be adopted as circulated. 

  Motion CARRIED.

  M. Lalande, Corporate Officer, City of Colwood joined the meeting at 2:08 pm.

  
  

5.

REPORTS

5.1

Membership Updates

The Chair provided an overview of the Membership Updates. 

5.2

Amended Terms of Reference

The Chair asked if there were any further amendments needed to the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee Terms of Reference at this time. No amendments were suggested. 

5.3

Engagement Summary: Survey #1 - Accessibility Engagement

The Chair opened the floor for discussion and the following was noted:

• Valuable information collected from the survey that will be helpful for a consultant. 
• Interesting to see the ways our communities wish to be engaged with (in person, online, etc.). 
• Appreciation for the fulsome and detailed responses from those who took the survey.  

• MOVED BY: Sarah Jones
  SECONDED: Deb Hopkins

  THAT the Committee:

  1. Receive this report for information, and
  2. Make this report available on the respective websites, and
  3. Forward this report to the Council’s of Colwood, Langford, Esquimalt, Sooke, Highlands, Metchosin, and View Royal for information.
  Motion CARRIED.

5.4

Engagement Summary : Survey #2 "Accessibility & You"

• MOVED BY: Marcy Lalande
  SECONDED: Melisa Miles

  THAT the Committee:

  1. Receive this report for information, and
  2. Make this report available on the respective websites, and

     Forward this report to the Council’s of Colwood, Langford, Esquimalt, Sooke, Highlands, Metchosin, and View Royal for information.

  Motion CARRIED.

5.5

Accessibility Plan Framework - Updates & Discussion 

The Chair opened the floor to comments and questions from the Committee. The following was noted: 

• Possibility of the draft framework coming forward at the June 2024 meeting. 
• Stressed that this draft framework is not the plan as we need the public to weigh in further once a consultant has been hired and engagement sessions are held. 

5.6

Report: S. Jones, Corporate Officer, View Royal - Rick Hansen Accessibility Professional Network Conference Recap

S. Jones, Corporate Officer, Town of View Royal provided an overview of her report. The following was highlighted: 

• ASL (American Sign Language) interpreters were always present during the event. 
• Use of closed captioning. 
• Considerations such as water dishes for service animals made the conference a more accessible and inclusive event. 
• Networking opportunity with people from around the world and all over Canada. 
• Acknowledged that Canada has a long way to go regarding accessibility and a lot of the necessary work is in the beginning phases. 
• Heritage buildings, Canada Post buildings, and accessible housing were some interesting topics covered. 
• Energizing, inspiring, and interesting conference and participation is highly recommended. 

 

 

5.7

Report: S. Jones, Corporate Officer, View Royal - Municipal Accessibility Network Meeting Recap

S. Jones, Corporate Officer, Town of View Royal provided an overview of her report. The following was highlighted: 

• Province is working towards implementation of their accessibility plan focused on employment and service delivery. The Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee should monitor their progress as our plans focus on the same topics. 
• Participation at the next Municipal Accessibility Network is highly recommended. 

5.8

National AccessAbility Week 2024

The Chair noted National AccessAbility Week is upcoming. The Committee will be notified when the dates are published on the Government of Canada's website. Member municipalities will share messaging on their websites and social media channels where applicable. 

5.9

Member Municipality Feedback Received

Committee members provided an overview of accessibility related feedback collected since the last meeting in November, 2023. 

Town of View Royal, District of Metchosin, and City of Langford had feedback to share. 

5.10

Discussion - Next Steps

6.

ADJOURNMENT

• MOVED BY: Deb Hopkins
  SECONDED: Marcy Lalande

  The Committee adjourned the meeting at 2:31 pm.

  Motion CARRIED.