Accessibility Committee

• Brennan Park Recreation Centre
• Municipal Hall
• Squamish Public Library
• The 55 Activity Centre
• Firehall #1
• Squamish Adventure Centre
• Sp’akw’us Feather Park
• Junction Park
• Stan Clarke Park
• Rose Park
• Smoke Bluffs Park

• General accessibility and the Accessible BC Act
• Supporting people with visual impairments
• Deaf culture
• Accessible service delivery
• Plain language 

• Crip Camp film screening at the Squamish Public Library
• Walk n’ Roll Celebration

• Brennan Park Recreation Centre
• Municipal Hall Council Chambers
• Squamish Public Library
• The 55 Activity Centre
• Emergency Operations Centre
• Squamish Landfill Weigh Scale

• District of Squamish
• Squamish Public Library

Developed policies, guidelines, plans, and updated Bylaws to ensure accessibility is part of all we do

The purposes of the Accessibility Committee are to support the District of Squamish by:

(a)    identifying barriers to individuals interacting with the organization; and
(b)    providing advice on how to remove and prevent barriers to individuals interacting with the organization; and
(c)    providing a disabled lens on District plans and projects; and 
(d)    advocating for accessibility.

This will involve discussion, feedback and public consultation as required.

The Committee is a recommendation - based Committee and is not empowered to:

• make decisions for the District of Squamish
• manage or direct the actions of staff on a day-to-day operational basis
• enter into agreements and contractual obligations

Staff will recruit and invite members of the public to sit on the Committee.
The Accessibility Committee will, to the extent possible, have members who meet the following:

(a)    at least half of the members are:

(i)    persons with disabilities, or
(ii)    individuals who support, or are from organizations that support, persons with disabilities;

(b)    the members described above reflect the diversity of persons with disabilities in the District or the Province;
(d)    at least one of the members will be an Indigenous person; and
(e)    the committee reflects the diversity of persons in British Columbia.

Members should also live or work in the Sea to Sky region. If Members from outside the region wish to join the Committee, they may do so but will be restricted from voting. 

The General Manager of Corporate Services (“General Manager”) shall be the District of Squamish sponsor of the Committee. 

The following staff of the District will participate as necessary:
General Manager, Corporate Services
Equity and Inclusion Advisor

Additionally, key staff from all departments will:

• participate as Members
• participate in workshops
• provide subject matter expertise and feedback
• receive recommendations from the Committee to help implement the Accessibility Plan.

Public Committee Members should work in the public interest to improve accessibility in the community and resolve any potential conflicts with their personal interests in order to support the Committee.

Members should participate and bring the full range of their skills, experiences and diversity to each issue. Members should discuss with the Chair(s) if they need accommodations to participate. If Members will be absent, they should inform District Staff before the scheduled meeting. The Chair(s) will record meeting attendance. If a member of the Committee is absent without reason, the Chair(s) will contact them to discuss barriers they may be facing.

Public Committee Members may provide alternate representation at meetings only if the Committee agrees beforehand.

Any Member of the Committee who wishes to resign should contact the Committee Chair(s). The Equity and Inclusion Advisor will fill any vacancy on the Committee with a new Member with the relevant membership requirements.

Members should expect to spend additional time on email or other correspondence between meetings. Committee Members may be asked to review documents. Members may request extra time to review documents as accommodation. 

Meetings are 1 – 2 hours in length and will always include a break.

Committee Members will be compensated for their time if they

• identify as living with a disability and 
• are not District staff and
• are not participating on behalf of an organization for which they are paid to attend meetings 

The Committee will meet a minimum of 6 times a year. This may need to be more frequent to meet the needs and timelines to implement the Accessibility Plan. The Committee will develop and agree upon a schedule of meeting dates and times.

All logistics regarding meetings will be provided by District staff. This includes:

• arranging venue, digitally and physically
• preparing agendas
• sending out notices 

Meetings will take place in person and electronically, and issues may be addressed and resolved via email as necessary.

Committee Members will be notified of meetings at least 7 days before the scheduled meeting date. 

The District will determine meeting location and use technology and staff that it has available to ensure that the meeting is as accessible and inclusive as possible.

Meetings will be chaired by The Equity and Inclusion Advisor and a second Member if applicable. District staff will keep meeting notes. Meeting notes will acknowledge comments from members as a group and not individuals to maintain confidentiality.

The District may cancel or reschedule meetings with adequate and reasonable prior communication.

Prioritize accessibility:

• Make meetings as accessible as possible so everyone can participate fully. This includes but is not limited to: 
  • using a wheelchair accessible location
  • always allowing options to meet virtually
  • enabling auto captions online and in person
  • sending documentation early
  • ensuring documents are accessible
  • supplying printed documents in person
  • supporting the use of personal assistive devices
  • supplying masks and air purifiers by request 
  • making use of other technical advances to increase accessibility.
• Be on time:
  • Respect everyone’s time and start and finish promptly.
• Respect the agenda:
  • Familiarize yourself with agenda items and keep comments on topic.
• Recording notes:
  
  • We may record meetings to help us keep good notes. These recordings will be for the purpose of note taking only and will be deleted when no longer needed. We’ll keep a simple set of meeting notes that record the general conversation and any decisions reached. We won’t keep a verbatim transcript of our meetings.
• Share and speak up:
  • Please share your thoughts and be active in the meetings when it is relevant to do so.
• Speaking rules:
  • Let others have their turn to share or speak and make their voice heard. Do not interrupt others unless it’s absolutely necessary.
• Respect for others:
  • Ensure that disabled people/persons with disabilities at the meetings can fully participate and uphold the intent of “Nothing about Us, Without Us”.
• Be respectful with personal technology:
  • If you need to speak on your phone, please leave and take it outside of the meeting.
• Confidentiality:
  • We will respect any personal stories that are shared and not share them outside the meeting.

A second Chair may be selected by public Members of the Committee. If no one volunteers to be chair, the Committee will be chaired by the Equity and Inclusion Advisor.

The Chair(s) will be responsible for:

• calling meetings 
• setting agendas
• conducting meetings
• providing overall Committee leadership.

In the absence of the Chair(s), the remaining Members of the Committee will select a Member to preside at that meeting.

Communication about the Accessibility Committee between Members and District staff and Council will be through the General Manager and Equity and Inclusion Advisor.

The media contact on behalf of the Committee is the Equity and Inclusion Advisor. No public communications shall be released without the prior consent of the General Manager.

Meeting notes will be shared by email and will inform updates to Council.

A report on Committee activities and meetings will be included in the District’s Annual Report.